


A-Z of Jamie whump

by silvermoongirl10



Category: Blue Bloods (TV)
Genre: Arguing, Brothers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Drama, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-25
Updated: 2013-07-26
Packaged: 2018-01-04 23:23:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 54,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1086898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvermoongirl10/pseuds/silvermoongirl10
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>26 ways (one for each letter of the alphabet) that Jamie gets hurt/ill and Danny comes to help him out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A is for Ankle

Jamie was currently chasing a suspect Detectives from the 12th wanted for a robbery. Why they couldn't get him was beyond Jamie, yes uniforms looked for suspects for Detectives but that was for suspects involved in major crimes or homicides. But if he even voiced these thoughts he knew he would have a lecture on supporting all departments of the force.

Jamie was following the suspect dodging people in the busy streets, he'd been chasing the guy for four nearly five blocks and his lungs were burning. Renzulli was somewhere behind, at every corner Jamie via his radio told Renzulli where the suspect was heading. He was slowly gaining on the suspect; Jamie had always been a good runner much to his older brothers' annoyance. They knew there was no point in racing Jamie in the park because as long as Jamie had flat ground in front of him then no one could beat him, not even Danny who was ten years older.

The suspect began to tire and in desperation to get away he began knocking things into Jamie's path, Jamie jumped over the obstacles with ease until a passer-by didn't understand the concept of getting out of the way when a Police Officer is chasing someone. As Jamie jumped over some fallen boxes he tried to avoid landing into the passer-by, he ended up catching his foot on one of the boxes and crashed into the suspect (luckily) and managed to cuff him and informed Renzulli he caught the guy. As Jamie tried to stand up he found he couldn't put any weight on his left foot as shooting pains shot up his leg from his ankle.

"Brilliant" hissed Jamie as he waited for Renzulli as he held onto a nearby wall.

Renzulli caught up "hey Reagan not helping the suspect up?"

"Sarge I can barely stand" ground out Jamie,

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I caught my foot on one of the boxes and must have twisted my ankle"

"Come on Reagan the sooner we get back the sooner you can go home as our shift is now over" Renzulli pulled the suspect up and walked the five blocks back to the squad car.

Jamie leaned on a wall the whole way back having a little trouble crossing the five streets, he sighed in relief when he sat in the squad car. His ankle was now burning with pain, Jamie then groaned when he realized he had walked to work.

While Renzulli took the suspect to Robbery Jamie called Danny.

"Hey kid what's up?"

"Hey Danny, I was wondering if you'd be able to give me a lift home"

"Why?"

"I walked to work this morning and I won't be able to walk back"

"Why not?" Jamie could hear worry in Danny's voice,

"Chasing a suspect I tripped and twisted my ankle and now I can barely stand on it"

"Ok kid no worries I'll come get ya now"

"I'm not interrupting anything important am I?"

"Nah just doing paperwork"

"Ok see you in a few"

"See ya"

Jamie changed and hobbled his way outside and sat on a bench waiting for Danny, soon Danny had arrived and when he saw Jamie painfully making his way over, Danny quickly got out of his car and ran over to Jamie and let Jamie lean on him.

"Better?"

"Thanks Danny" sighed Jamie in relief at least now his ankle hurt less.

* * *

 

Danny and Jamie hobbled into Jamie's apartment; Danny lowered Jamie onto his couch and went to get a packet of frozen peas for the swelling on Jamie's ankle.

"Here you go kid, just what the Doctor ordered" said Danny as he put Jamie's left foot on a stool and placed the frozen peas on his ankle. Jamie hissed in shock from the cold.

"Sorry"

"It's ok"

Danny sat next to Jamie handing him a beer, he then switched the T.V on.

"Don't you have to get back? Not that I don't like the company"

"When I explained why I was leaving Jackie and Sarge let me have the last hour off for family reasons. And if they hadn't I still would of stayed"

"Why?"

"Because you're my kid brother and you need help while you're unable to walk on that ankle"

"Thanks Danny"

"No problem kid".


	2. B is for Beaten

Jamie and Renzulli were working the graveyard shift on Friday night. Not the best of nights to work the graveyard shift in Jamie's mind, with lots of people going for a drink to celebrate the end of the week and getting drunk and then getting into fights. Renzulli and Jamie were enjoying their break when they got call about a disturbance at a nearby bar.

"Here we go kid, gotta go and arrest some drunk idiots"

"That's gonna be fun"

"Yep" they got in their squad car and made the short journey to the bar. They instantly saw who they were supposed to stop fighting. There was a ring of people surrounding the two men fighting, Renzulli and Jamie swiftly got out of their squad car and jogged over.

"Alright break it up!" shouted Jamie trying to be heard over excited yelling of the bystanders.

Renzulli radioed for an additional unit and then he helped Jamie break up the fight, but some of the bystanders who didn't want the cops intervening surged forward and tackled Jamie and Renzulli to the floor.

Jamie tried to push his assailant off him but another man joined in the fight, they began kicking him, shooting pains began around Jamie's chest. Jamie brought his arms up to his head to try and protect his face and head. Soon he heard sirens coming closer, amongst the shouting for the men to stop fighting and release Jamie and Renzulli, Jamie heard a voice he knew very well.

"Alright back up!" Danny.

The men who were attacking Jamie were pulled of him by a fellow beat cop from the 12th. "Hey Reagan you ok?"

"Think so" wheezed Jamie.

* * *

 

Danny arrived outside a bar where a fight was taking place, he had been told to come and help break up a fight where two cops had been outnumbered.

He moved towards the fight pushing people away "alright back up!"

When the situation seemed to calm Danny saw an Officer helping up one of the first responding Officers up from the floor. Danny's heart skipped a beat when the Officer asked "hey you ok Reagan?"

Danny's head snapped in the direction of the two cops and saw Jamie being helped to sit up as he wheezed out "think so". Danny jogged the short distance over to his brother.

"Hey kid you ok?"

"Danny?" questioned Jamie,

Danny knelt in front of Jamie and saw the pain in Jamie's eyes; he was surprised to notice Jamie didn't have any cuts or bruises on his face. Before Danny could continue his observations Jamie slumped in the other Officer's arms and his eyes began to close as his breathing became more laboured.

"Hey Jamie stay with me ok?"

"Not going anywhere" wheezed Jamie,

"You got it kid" smiled Danny, but his smile soon disappeared when Jamie slumped forward into his arms.

"Jamie?"

"Ugh"

"We need an ambulance here!"

"Already on its way Detective" said the Officer,

"Don't need an ambulance" whispered Jamie,

"Yeah you do kid"

When there was no further argument from Jamie Danny shook him a little and said "Jamie?"

"Don't need to go to the hospital"

"Sorry kid you gotta go"

* * *

 

Two hours and a chest x-ray later Jamie was being helped into his apartment by Danny. Lucky for Jamie he hadn't sustained any serious injury just some bruises and temporary shortness of breath which could last a few hours if he strained his chest. He also gained the next day off for his troubles.

"You wanna go straight to bed?" asked Danny,

"Yeah that's probably a good idea, if I sit down I might not get back up" replied Jamie.

Once Jamie had been settled on his bed, he sat still for a moment to catch his breath, when Danny remembered wanting to ask how Jamie had no cuts or bruises on his face.

"Jamie" said Danny as he sat next to Jamie on the bed.

"Yeah"

"Why didn't you have any cuts or bruises on your face?"

Jamie turned his head up to Danny and smiled "remember when I was 10 and some bullies had beaten me up a little and I got a black eye? You and Joe taught me that if I got overpowered and was on the floor I had to use my arms to cover my face and head"

"Oh yeah I remember teaching you! Mom freaked when she saw you on the floor and me and Joe standing over you looking as if we were hitting you. She was gonna ground us but in the end she didn't, Joe and I never found out why"

"Because I told her what we were doing, and because I said you were helping me defend myself not how to hit someone she figured you were only being good older brothers so she let it go."

Danny smiled and ruffled Jamie's hair, "what would we have done without you kid I have no idea"


	3. C is for Concussion

Jamie and Renzulli were on their way to a call out where a woman's ex-husband had been hanging around her apartment building. They arrived and saw the woman had a window open and was yelling at her ex-husband, the man saw the squad car pull up and shouted up to the woman,

"You called the cops?"

"Yeah I did cuz I don't want you hanging around!" replied the woman, once she saw Jamie and Renzulli get out of the car she shut the window and closed the curtains.

"Lucy! Get back here! Tell them it was a mistake! Lucy!"

"Listen buddy your ex-wife doesn't want you hang around, so either leave now or we'll make you leave" said Renzulli sharply

"I ain't going anywhere" snapped the man,

"You heard what he said move or we'll make you leave" Jamie replied trying to keep the situation calm.

"I'd like to see you try" sneered the man.

"Right then, come on. Move" Renzulli reached for his cuffs, the man went to step away but Jamie got behind him to keep him from getting away.

"Get out of my way!" yelled the man,

"You had your chance to move on peacefully and didn't take it, so now we're making you leave" replied Jamie. The man then did something unexpected, he lunged at Jamie pushing him into an alley.

"Hey!" shouted a surprised Renzulli as he went after the man to help Jamie.

Jamie pushed back against the man, but the man was stronger and pushed Jamie away from him. Jamie lunged at the man before he could try and injure the two cops anymore. But the man gripped Jamie's arms and threw him into a wall. Jamie felt a shooting pain in his head as he felt his head whack against the wall. In his dazed state Jamie slumped to the floor, Renzulli cuffed the man and called for an additional unit and an ambulance for Jamie.

Once the man had been cuffed and not going anywhere Renzulli crouched in front of Jamie.

"Jamie?"

Jamie looked up at him with a dazed expression, "Sarge" whispered Jamie,

"You ok?"

"Not really, my head is killing me" Jamie's eyes began to close,

"Come on Jamie stay with me" said Renzulli as he gently shook Jamie's shoulder.

Jamie's only response was a pained groan. Renzulli got Jamie's cell phone and called Danny.

"Hey kid how's your shift going?"

"Danny its Renzulli"

"Sarge where's Jamie?" asked Danny, Renzulli could hear the worry in Danny's voice,

"He's in front of me, but we're waiting for an ambulance to arrive for him"

"Why?"

"A guy threw him into a wall and he whacked his head pretty good"

"How is he?"

"A little out of it"

"Right where are you? I'm on my way"

Renzulli knew it was pointless to tell Danny to not come, so after telling Danny where they were he waited for Danny and the ambulance while trying to keep Jamie awake.

Five minutes later the ambulance was coming down the street when it was overtaken by a Detective squad car, there was no question who was driving. And sure enough Danny got out and ran over.

"Sarge" Renzulli knew what the unspoken question was and moved away away a little so Danny could get a look at Jamie, who was still out of it.

"Hey kid how you doing?"

"Danny?"

"Yeah it's me, how are you?"

"My head hurts"

"I'll bet" replied Danny softly, Danny then got a good look of Jamie. Jamie's eyes were drooping, he was pale and slumped against the wall with a cut on his forehead that had blood dripping from it and down his face. The EMT's rushed over and began assessing Jamie and cleaned up the cut. After a few minutes one of them turned to Danny.

"Do you know him?"

"Yeah he's my kid brother"

"Well he doesn't need to go to the hospital, but he has a concussion so he will need to be woken up every two hours, but if no one can stay with him we will be taking him to the hospital"

"I'm staying with him" replied Danny, the EMT nodded filled out a form and handed it to Danny, who put it in his pocket, Danny and Renzulli helped Jamie to his feet. Danny felt Jamie sway so put a protective arm around Jamie's back to help keep him upright. Danny managed to get Jamie into the squad car and made the short journey to the 12th. Renzulli had already radioed ahead explaining what had happened. Danny held Jamie upright as he signed off shift and Danny had to help him change. By this time Jackie had arrived and taken the squad car back to the 8th, Danny helped Jamie to Jamie's car and drove back to Jamie's apartment.

Danny more or less carried Jamie into the apartment, he settled Jamie on his bed and drew all the blinds knowing the light won't help Jamie's concussion. He set an alarm on his phone for two hours and text Linda about what had happened and that he would be staying with Jamie. Linda replied saying it was fine and that she and the boys hoped Jamie was ok and would be feeling better soon.

Danny went and checked on Jamie and smiled when he saw the peaceful look on Jamie's face as he slept. He went back out to the living room and turned the T.V on with the volume on low, when his alarm went off he turned the T.V off and went into Jamie's room. He gently shook Jamie's shoulder and grimaced sympathetically when Jamie groaned.

"You awake Jamie?"

"Unfortunately"

Danny chuckled,

"Sorry about this Danny"

"About what?"

"Having to put you through this"

"It's fine"

"I bet you'd rather be doing something else"

"No I don't want to be doing anything else"

"Why?"

"Because your my younger brother and your hurt so where else would I be?"

"Thanks Danny" yawned Jamie,

"No problem, now get some rest and I'll wake you up in two hours and depending on how you feel I'll see what food I can rustle up"

Jamie smiled his thanks, Danny waited until Jamie's breaths evened out to soft snores. Danny softly patted Jamie's shoulder and left the room.


	4. D is for Drowning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if anything medical is wrong I have no idea what the medical procedure is for someone who almost drowned.

Jamie and Renzulli were walking through central park and they spotted Danny and Jackie having a break.

"Hey there Jamie"

"Hi Danny" smiled Jamie.

"How's your beat going?"

"Ok"

"Want a coffee?"

"Sorry he can't" interrupted Renzulli smiling,

"Geez kid your partner is like a slave driver" said Danny in mock seriousness.

"Don't I know it! But you get used to it" laughed Jamie.

They waved goodbye when Jamie and Renzulli continued on their way through the park. Their peaceful conversation was interrupted by a loud scream and they turned to see a man fall over the railing of the bridge which went across the lake. They ran over to the edge of the water and when it became apparent the man wasn't able to keep his head above the water and swim to safety Jamie handed Renzulli his gun and radio and (ignoring Renzulli's shouts for him to come back) ran into the shallows and then began swimming over to the man. He grabbed onto the man's arms and held him above the water, but the man was panicking and in his desperation kept pushing Jamie's head bellow the water.

"Hey stop! I'm trying to help you!" spluttered Jamie, but the man didn't seem to hear him and Jamie's head was pushed under one final time, with the weight of his uniform and the man Jamie found he couldn't pull himself to the surface. His lungs were burning for air, Jamie even let go of the man but the man still hung on and Jamie felt himself sinking into the depths of the lake. When suddenly the weight of the man was gone and a pair of hands grabbed his arms and pulled him to the surface.

As soon as Jamie's head broke the surface he gasped in air greedily but swallowed some water and began coughing which made him struggle to breathe in more air.

"Easy kid, I got you" Danny. Danny would look after him, everything was ok.

Jamie closed his eyes in the knowledge that Danny was there. He felt himself being dragged onto land, "Jamie?" two fingers were pressed into his neck and the person breathed a sigh of relief.

"Jamie open your eyes" said Danny,

Jamie's eyes flickered open, but the bright sunlight made him hastily close his eyes.

"Come on Jamie keep them open"

"Bright" coughed Jamie,

"Huh?...oh!" Jamie felt his face grow cold because a shadow was now blocking the sun, he reopened his eyes slowly to see Danny leaning over him.

"Better?" asked Danny, Jamie tried to reply but ended up coughing so instead he nodded.

Jamie tried to keep his eyes open but found his eyelids to heavy, just as his eyes slipped closed they shot open again as Jamie exclaimed "ow!"

"I'll pinch you again if you close your eyes agiain!" replied Danny sternly, but Danny's stern attitude was seen though by everyone on the scene by the worry in his eyes.

"Meanie" huffed Jamie,

"It's for your own good"

"Still mean though" insisted Jamie.

Soon two ambulances arrived, one whisked the man away the other was just loading Jamie, Danny had a blanket placed around him and he climbed into the back with Jamie.

Soon Jamie was settled in a room for an overnight stay at the hospital with an IV drip and breathing apparatus across his face giving him warm oxygen to help get rid of any water Jamie might have still in his lungs. And of course Danny sat in the chair next to the bed after being checked over himself. Watching Jamie sleep Danny reflected on the days events and how easily he could have lost Jamie when he was only a few metres away.

_Danny waved as Jamie walked away, he looked at his watch and saw he still had another five minutes of his break to enjoy. Until he heard a scream and saw a man fall into the lake, he stood up and watched as Jamie and Renzulli ran to the edge of the lake, then shocked he saw Jamie thrust his gun and radio into Renzulli's hands and run into the water._

_"Jamie wait!" yelled Renzulli. But Jamie ignored him swimming over to the man. Danny ran over to Renzulli, who was radioing for an ambulance, but once they saw Jamie start being pushed below the surface Renzulli radioed for another amblance. Danny then charged into the water not wanting to stand by and watch as his brother drowned. Jamie's head then went under and didn't resurface, this pushed Danny on, he reached the struggling man, he tried to pull him off Jamie but the man wouldn't budge. Another man swam upto them and pulled the drowning man away from Jamie and pulled him to the edge of the lake allowing Danny to pull Jamie to the surface. But Danny couldn't reach Jamie so took a breath and dived he immediately saw Jamie and grabbed his arms and pulled. When they broke the surface he heard Jamie gasp and start coughing, then finding it hard to breathe, "easy kid I got you"._

_When they got to land Danny looked down and saw Jamie lying on the ground unmoving and not looking like he was breathing. Danny panicked and as he pushed two fingers to Jamie's neck he worriedly called to his brother, "Jamie?" he breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a pulse._

Danny recalled the struggle Jamie had to keep his eyes open andndanny remembered the worry he hadn't quite managed to hide. He looked over to Jamie who was beginning to stir.

"Danny?" Jamie blinked confused at Danny, his vision not quite clear enough to see who was sat next to him.

"Yeah it's me" replied Danny as he pulled the chair closer to Jamie's head.

"Where am I?"

"The hospital"

"Why?"

"Well because you decided to play hero and drown yourself in the process"

"Drown? I wasn't drowning!"

"What would you call it then?"

"Sinking"

Danny couldn't contain the laughed that overwhelmed him, knowing Jamie was still here and was going to be alright got rid of the tension from his shoulders. But Danny stopped laughing when he kept seeing Jamie disappear under the water.

"Danny you ok?"

"Yeah" replied Danny a little to quickly,

Jamie raised his eyebrows "really?"

Danny sighed and looked at the floor, "I just keep seeing you disappear under the water and not come back up. I thought I might have lost you and I was right there! Watching!"

"Danny-"

"I stood on the edge of the lake watching you struggle with the man, and I only went in after you went under-"

"Danny!" Jamie gripped Danny's hand making Danny look him in the eye, "It's ok! I'm here, you saved me and it's all ok" said Jamie,

Danny smiled, "I'm under orders that once you've been released from the hospital I have to take you to dad and grandpa's house"

"Why?"

"Because your staying with them until you go back to work which would be in four days"

"What! I can look after myself!"

"Not this time because the Doctor said someone needs to be around all the time to make sure your breathing ok"

Jamie opened his mouth to protest when Danny interrupted "you've got no one to blame but yourself for nearly drowning. Or should I say _sinking_ " Jamie glared at Danny who just smirked in return.


	5. E is for Eyesight

Jamie was waiting in the roll-call room for Renzulli; he stood up from his chair when he saw Renzulli approach.

"Right Reagan we are going to be assisting on a raid today"

"A raid for what Sarge?"

"Not sure, we'll be briefed when we get there. All I know is we'll be assisting Detectives from Major Case from the 8th whose suspect lives in our jurisdiction" Jamie nodded and he followed Renzulli out to their squad car.

When they arrived around the corner from the apartment where the raid would take place, Jamie spotted the Detectives they were assisting. And they were Jackie and Danny. Jamie got out of the squad car and walked over to them; he smiled at Jackie and nodded to Danny.

"Ah so we have you assisting us do we kid?"

"Shut up Danny"

Danny just smirked in reply. Jackie then showed Renzulli and Jamie a photo of the suspect and told them which apartment he lived in. They all entered the building slowly and quietly, when they reached the door they all drew their guns. Jamie and Renzulli were stood either side of the door with Jackie behind Renzulli and Danny ready to knock down the door. Danny looked at the other three and mouthed 'one, two, three' he then brought his leg up and kicked the door in, Jamie swept into the apartment first followed by Renzulli, then Danny and Jackie. Even though Danny knew Jamie had good instincts and despite his teasing he knew Jamie was a good cop he still worried. He watched as Jamie moved into the apartment yelling "police!" but he had to take his eyes away from his younger brother and concentrate to make sure the suspect didn't escape or try to harm any of them.

As Jamie moved into the apartment he instantly caught sight of the suspect, "hands in the air and move over to the wall" commanded Jamie. But the suspect wasn't going to come quietly; he immediately drew his gun from his jacket and pointed it at Danny. Jamie acted on instinct; there was no way he was going to lose another brother _especially_ when he was standing closer to the man pointing the gun. Jamie grabbed the man's arm spinning him around just as the gun went off. Unfortunately for Jamie when the bullet hit the wall, fragments of the wall flew into his face. Jamie let go of the man's arm and brought his hands up to cradle his face, he leant against the wall for support but his legs buckled and he sank to the floor.

Danny froze for a moment when the gun was pointed at him, he was about to react when Jamie surged forward and grabbed the man's arm and had the gun pointing at the wall when it went off. Renzulli and Jackie cuffed the man, Danny was about to pat Jamie on the shoulder for a way of saying thanks. But he turned around to see Jamie sat on the floor leaning against the wall with his legs drawn up to his chest and his face resting in his hands. Alarm bells instantly began to ring for Danny he knew there was something wrong, he knelt in front of Jamie and rested a hand on Jamie's arm, and he frowned in concern when Jamie flinched at his touch.

"Jamie?"

"Danny is that you?"

"Yeah, can't you see that?"

"No!"

"Jamie?"

"I can't see!"

Danny paused in shock for a moment, and then gently removed Jamie's hands from his face and sucked in a breath. Jamie had cuts all over his face, but that wasn't what worried Danny. What worried him was that Jamie had two quite deep cuts next to his eyebrows which were bleeding down his face and his eyelids were red.

Danny softly said "Jamie can you open your eyes so I can take a look"

Slowly Jamie's eyes flickered open and Danny looked away and ran a shaking hand through his hair and then looked back at Jamie's questioning tone in a small voice "Danny?"

Jamie's eyes were glazed and unseeing. Danny was about to tell Jamie he was going to help him stand up when Renzulli came back up saying "what's with you two leaving Detective Curatola and I to tend with the suspect-" he stopped short when he saw Danny kneeling in front of Jamie.

"Danny what's going on?"

"Renzulli call a bus" chocked Danny.

"Why?"

"Because when the gun went off fragments of the wall cut Jamie's face and hurt his eyes"

Renzulli came forward and cursed when he saw Jamie, he then barked into his radio their location and the need for a bus. He went outside to tell Jackie what was going on and to wait for the ambulance.

"Right Jamie I'm gonna help you up so we can get you out of here ok?"

"Ok" murmured Jamie, Jamie wasn't going to admit it, but he was scared of the darkness and the fact he could only rely on sound to tell him what was going on.

Danny hooked his arms under Jamie's arms and helped pull Jamie to his feet; Jamie awkwardly tried to help but unbalanced himself. Danny positioned Jamie so Jamie had an arm around Danny's shoulders and Danny had an arm around Jamie's back.

"Ok Jamie?"

"I guess"

Danny sighed, he knew Jamie was trying to act like he wasn't scared, "Jamie you don't need to pretend you're not scared"

"I'm not" replied Jamie firmly,

"Jamie I know you, and anyway if I was in your place I would be scared as well" Jamie seemed to deflate a little at Danny's words. Danny then concentrated on getting out of the apartment, "Jamie keep your free hand out in front of you and I'll tell you when we reach the stairs and then I want you to keep hold of the handrail ok?"

"Yeah"

When they reached the foot of the stairs, both of them were panting from the effort. Danny stopped them and said to Jamie "close your eyes just in case the sunlight aggravates them more"

"I thought I had closed them" said Jamie confused,

"No you hadn't" replied Danny sadly,

Jamie sighed and after a moment asked in a small voice "are they closed now?"

"Yeah kid they are" Danny replied softly, he gripped Jamie's shoulder in quiet support.

When they reached the door to the apartment block the ambulance had arrived and the EMT's were just coming over to them, Jamie flinched when they touched him. Jamie had been too busy concentrating on where he was putting his feet to hear the EMT's approach. When he flinched away he almost fell over.

"Hey! You gotta warn him as _he can't see_ " said Danny coldly,

"It's ok Danny" said Jamie,

"No its not! You almost fell over because of them!"

The EMT's apologized and helped Jamie over to the ambulance. There was no question of Jamie going to the hospital and Danny point blank told the EMT's he was going in the ambulance with them. Even though Jamie couldn't see he could feel the EMT's unease.

"Don't worry about him, he's my older brother and he just gets overprotective" said Jamie trying to calm the situation. The EMT's smiled in understanding, Danny also smiled; it was just like Jamie to want to keep a situation calm.

Just before the doors were closed Renzulli came over "I'll come visit you kid whether you're in the hospital or not. And if you're in the hospital I'll bring you some decent food"

"Thanks Sarge" smiled Jamie. He jumped when the doors banged shut.

* * *

 

Soon enough they had reached the hospital and Jamie was wheeled into a room in the E.R, Danny was sat in a chair next to him. The Doctor came in and cleaned up the cuts on Jamie's face and then said "right Mr Reagan-"

"Officer" corrected Danny,

"Sorry. Officer Reagan I'm going to shine a light in your eyes now ok"

"Ok" _it's not like I can see it anyway_ , thought Jamie.

Two minutes later the Doctor said "well there doesn't look like there is any permanent damage, we'll flush your eyes to get the remaining fragments out and then put a bandage around your eyes. Come back in a week and I'll do a check-up and hopefully when we remove the bandages you should have your eyesight back"

"Thanks Doc" said Jamie,

Danny's phone rang and he saw the caller was Frank; he excused himself and answered the phone.

"Hey dad, guess you heard about Jamie"

" _Yes I did, is he ok?"_

"The Doc just looked at him, their gonna flush his eyes out and then bandage his eyes up for a week and then check on him in a week"

" _So his loss of sight isn't permanent"_

"Not according to the Doctor"

" _Well that's good"_

"Yeah Jamie's very lucky"

" _Well I phoned your grandfather and he says Jamie will be staying with and I agree, so tell Jamie for the next week he'll be staying with your grandfather and me"_

"He's gonna love that" smirked Danny,

" _He doesn't have a choice; your grandfather is expecting you to drop Jamie off in the next couple of hours"_

"Right ok, when I get back they should have finished so we should be there in a bit. See you later dad"

" _Bye Danny"_

* * *

 

Forty minutes later Danny pulled his car up outside Frank and Henry's house. Much to his surprise when he told Jamie where he would be staying Jamie hadn't made a fuss stating it was probably for the best. Every time Danny looked at Jamie, with the big white bandage around his eyes and head, guilt rushed over him. It was all his fault Jamie was going through this.

"Right let's get you inside" said Danny as he went to get out of the car,

"Danny"

"What?" Jamie's tone made him pause and he turned to face his brother and flinched at the sight of the bandage face looking in his direction. The bandage replaced the piercing blue eyes that during Jamie's childhood would sparkle when Jamie was up to mischief. But now underneath the bandage those same eyes were glazed and unseeing, and it was his fault.

"Don't blame yourself"

"What are you talking about?" Danny tried to deflect where he knew this conversation was heading,

"Danny you said you knew I was scared because you know me so well, and because I know you so well I know you're blaming yourself"

Danny sighed; he wasn't getting out of this conversation. "Well it is my fault"

"No its not!"

"Yes Jamie it is! I should have done something other than just stand there!"

"Danny I was closer to the guy and if you had moved forward he would have shot you!"

"Maybe that would have been better than what happened"

"How can you say that?" gasped Jamie,

"Because it's the truth! You're my baby brother and I'm supposed to look after you not let you get hurt" even though Danny couldn't meet Jamie's gaze he still looked away from Jamie,

"You didn't let me do anything! It was my choice!"

"I can't believe your trying to stop me blaming myself" muttered Danny,

"Danny, the damage isn't permanent and even if it was I would rather lose my sight than you" Danny's head snapped up to face Jamie.

Danny was silent for a moment letting Jamie's words sink in, the guilt still not disappearing. Jamie sensing this added "what would you feel and say if our roles were reversed?"

That made Danny stop and think for a moment. And he admitted Jamie was right, if it was Jamie who was blaming himself Danny would be saying the same things as Jamie.

"Come on grandpa is probably wondering where we've got to" said Danny as he got out of the car, "and you can stop smiling Harvard" this only made Jamie smile even more, he had gotten through to his brother and he could sense Danny's guilt was slowly disappearing.

Danny opened the car door for Jamie and shouldered the bag of clothes he had picked up for Jamie at Jamie's apartment and they trudged through the front door and almost instantly were met by Henry.

"Ok Jamie?"

"Yeah grandpa I'm fine"

Henry nodded and asked "do you want to sit down on the couch or have a sleep upstairs"

"I'll just sit on the couch"

"I'll just take your stuff upstairs kid, grandpa could you help him to the couch"

"I think I could manage that" smiled Henry; he took Jamie by the arm and slowly moved Jamie towards the couch and lowered Jamie onto it.

"Do you want a drink?"

"That would be great grandpa"

"What do you want?"

"Just some water would be fine"

"I take it you want bottled water as you don't like the tap water"

"Yes please" laughed Jamie. Henry smiled and got a bottle for Jamie undoing the top and handing it to Jamie.

Henry and Danny sat on the chairs around the couch and Henry said "want the T.V on?" he then seemed to realize what he said and Jamie hastily said "yeah that's fine, don't worry grandpa I doesn't matter that I can't see it, I can still hear it and it will give me something to do, well listen to anyway"

Henry nodded and switched the T.V on; within fifteen minutes Jamie had fallen asleep. Danny then gently positioned Jamie so he was lying on the couch instead of sitting and Henry placed a blanket over him. Soon Danny had to leave as today he was picking the boys up from school and he said goodbye to Henry.

* * *

 

The next day was Sunday, and Jamie was slightly dreading it. The rest of the family had been told of what had happened to him and he knew Linda and Erin were likely to fuss over him, with maybe Nikki, the boys would (even though he couldn't see them) would most likely stare and be a little nervous around him not wanting to do anything that could startle him, and Danny, his dad and grandpa would fuss him just more subtly than Erin and Linda.

He was still in his room when everyone arrived, he wasn't hiding he told himself. He heard footsteps come up the stairs and his bedroom door opened.

"Hiding are we?" asked Danny,

"No"

"Sure, not that I blame you, but if I were you I would come downstairs as Linda and Erin are getting more worried about you and soon enough will probably come up here"

"Alright but I need your help"

"Don't worry I'll get you downstairs safely although I don't know if I'll be able to protect you from Linda and Erin"

As soon as Jamie and Danny got downstairs Linda and Erin rushed over simultaneously saying,

"Jamie are you ok?"

"Do you need to sit down?"

Jamie attempted to tell them he was fine but they weren't letting him get a word out, soon he felt overwhelmed and unable to keep track of what was going on.

"Alright you two stop!" said Danny,

Erin and Linda stopped mid-sentence and looked at Danny, "Jamie needs space and you two fussing over him isn't helping"

Before Erin or Linda could apologize to Jamie Henry announced dinner was ready. Nikki came over and said "come on Uncle Jamie" and she gently guided Jamie over to his seat and she took her seat next to him, the boys greeted Jamie normally as if nothing was wrong. _Nikki must have spoken to them_ thought Jamie.

After grace had been said Jamie was stumped, what was he going to do? He couldn't see anything so he couldn't hold the bowls of food and couldn't see where he placed his food. Nikki touched his arm and softly said "tell me what you want and I'll put it on your plate for you" Jamie nodded.

Once the food had been placed on his plate Jamie went to cut it only to miss the plate, he hissed in annoyance. Nikki then gently placed her hands over Jamie's and helped him cut his food. And when Jamie needed a drink Nikki would help keep the glass steady, and when dinner was finished Nikki started to clear his plate and he said "thanks Nikki"

"No problem Uncle Jamie".

* * *

 

A week later Jamie was back at the hospital with Danny sat next to him again and the Doctor stood in front of him.

"Right Jamie I'm going to remove the bandage and keep your eyes shut until I say you can open them." Said the Doctor,

Jamie nodded and slowly undid the bandage; once it was removed the Doctor said "now open your eyes _slowly_ ".

Jamie slowly opened his eyes and sucked in a breath, he could see blurry shapes and slowly the shapes came into focus and Danny had come to stand in front of him looking nervous. Jamie smiled and Danny relaxed. He was so thankful Jamie got his sight back, once the Doctor confirmed everything was ok Danny and Jamie made their way out of the hospital.

Jamie stopped for a moment and looked around him.

"Everything ok kid?"

"Yeah it's just weird seeing again"

"Why? I thought you were glad to get your sight back"

"I am. It's just for a week I just relied on my hearing"

Danny nodded, "come on I'll buy you a beer".


	6. F is for Flu

There was a knocking at Jamie's front door, he groaned and turned over hoping the person at the door would just go away. He had a headache, blocked nose and felt very tired, which meant he had the flu. He hadn't even made it out of bed, and it was now one in the afternoon. He slowly pulled himself out of bed when the knocking returned more urgently. Soon the knocking turned into a fist banging on the door, this did nothing to help Jamie's headache, he shuffled out of his bedroom (which took a huge effort) and was in his living room when the click of the front door unlocking and the door banged against the wall in the person's haste to enter the apartment, the door was slammed shut which made Jamie cringe. There were hurried footsteps and then Danny came out of the hall into the living room and stopped when he saw Jamie.

"Geez kid you look horrible"

"Thanks Danny" huffed Jamie, he felt his legs weaken and he sank onto the couch and leaned back closing his eyes. The next thing he knew there was a hand on his forehead and Danny said,

"You got a temperature, why aren't you in bed?"

"Well I was"

"Oh" Danny realized what Jamie meant, he hoisted Jamie up and took Jamie back to his room and helped settle Jamie in bed.

"What are you doing here Danny?"

"We were going to meet up for drinks at twelve and when I didn't hear from you I tried calling you and didn't get an answer so I was worried"

"Huh?

"You don't remember we were going to meet up?" asked Danny worriedly,

"No, when did we decide to?" Jamie asked confused.

"Yesterday"

"Yesterday's a bit of a blank"

"What a way to spend your day off"

"Mmm" hummed Jamie in agreement, he was fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Go to sleep, you need to rest"

Jamie nodded weakly as his eyes closed. Danny left the room keeping the door ajar so he would be able to hear if Jamie got up. Danny was reminded of the last time Jamie had the flu, Jamie had been 14 then. Danny smiled to himself remembering what happened.

_The flu was going around and Mary's mother had gotten ill, so Mary was staying at her mother's which was three blocks away. Frank was helping his mother with looking after his ill father between shifts. Erin was looking after an ill two year old Nikki and Joe was in Boston with a friend. So 24 year old Danny had been asked to stay at his parent's house with Jamie. Jamie had been bogged down with assignments and was tiring himself out. Danny had tried on numerous occasions to get Jamie to stop and watch T.V or do something fun, he had even gone as far as hiding Jamie's work, but Jamie would always find it._

_One morning it was the first of two days Danny had off and he was waiting for Jamie to come downstairs. Soon Jamie shuffled into the kitchen looking completely dead on his feet._

" _Jamie? You ok?"_

" _Yeah" mumbled Jamie as he sat down, but instead of getting his cereal he just put his head on his arms._

" _Jamie?"_

" _Mmm"_

_Danny went over and placed a hand on Jamie's forehead._

" _Geez kid! You have a high temperature! You're not going to school"_

" _But Danny" protested Jamie weakly, with his head still on his arms._

" _No buts. Bed now!"_

_Jamie peaked over his arms and tried to protest again, but at Danny's pointed look he realized there was no point, so he managed to sit up a little. But he found the effort of moving too much. Danny helped him up and more or less carried Jamie upstairs and back into his room._

_Danny left Jamie to sleep, but when he came up to check on Jamie an hour later, Jamie had a textbook open and was trying to read it, but it was obviously too much for Jamie because his eyes kept drooping. Danny stood there for a few moments and Jamie didn't turn the page once._

" _Jamie!" said Danny as he walked fully into the room._

" _Wha'?" slurred Jamie, telling Danny he was exhausted._

" _You should be resting!"_

" _But Danny-"_

" _That's it!" and Danny pulled the textbook from Jamie and then picked Jamie up and carried him downstairs,_

" _Danny!"_

" _If this is what I have to do to make sure you just sleep, so be it!" He put Jamie down on the couch and at Jamie's look he simply said "it's for your own good". Jamie huffed in annoyance, Danny just laughed. He sat on the couch next to Jamie and in silent protest Jamie just stayed sitting up. Danny sighed._

" _Come on kid" and he moved Jamie so Jamie was lying on the couch with his head on Danny's lap._

" _Danny" moaned Jamie,_

" _What?"_

" _I'm 14"_

" _And?"_

" _It's embarrassing lying on your lap!"_

" _Well no one is here to see and I won't tell anyone if you won't"_

_With that Jamie had nothing to say so just settled down, soon his breathing evened out into soft snores._

Danny went to check on Jamie and frowned worriedly when he saw Jamie's face was covered with a thin sheen of sweat, he went back to the kitchen and found a small bowl and filled it with cold water and then he got a flannel and went back into Jamie's room. He put the flannel in the water and then folded it and placed it on Jamie's forehead.

Jamie groaned and his eyes flickered open, "what are you doing Danny?" asked Jamie hoarsely,

"I'm trying to help bring your temperature down"

"You don't need to stay here Danny, there's no reason why both of our days off need to be ruined"

"Jamie" said Danny exasperated,

"What?"

"How many times do I need to say that if you're hurt or ill where else would I be? I would be happier staying with you knowing you're ok and not collapsed somewhere because you've had to get something because I wasn't here"

Jamie nodded making the compress slip down his face; Danny chuckled as he replaced the compress.

Half an hour later Danny was watching T.V when Jamie stumbled out of his room.

"Jamie what are you doing?"

"I need a drink" Jamie rasped as he stood next to the couch,

"Sit down and _I'll_ get it"

When Danny came back Jamie was lying across the couch, Danny put the glass of water on the coffee table and sat on the couch and Jamie shifted around him but Danny maneuverer him so Jamie's head was on his lap.

"This brings back memories" commented Danny,

"I guess" replied Jamie.

_Danny checked his watch, he and Jamie had been on the couch since 9 am and now it was 4pm. Every day so far Mary would come over around four to check on Jamie and to make sure Jamie and Danny hadn't killed each other with the arguments they so commonly had._

_Jamie was sleeping with his head still on Danny's lap, Danny smiled. Yes he and Jamie argued a lot, but it didn't mean that he didn't care about Jamie. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do to make sure Jamie was ok and if anyone messed with Jamie they had to deal with him._

_Danny felt Jamie's forehead and sighed the slight fever he had felt earlier had gotten worse, he gently moved Jamie from his lap and after getting a bowl of water and a flannel for a compress he placed it on Jamie's forehead. Danny also got a bottle of water and shook Jamie's shoulder._

" _Uh"_

" _Come on Jamie wake up"_

" _Why?" murmured Jamie, but his throat was so dry he ended up coughing. Danny helped him to sit up keeping the compress on his head and handed him the bottle of water._

" _You need to drink Jamie"_

_Jamie gulped down the water greedily, but it did nothing to ease his sore throat._

" _Not so fast Jamie!" said Danny as he took the water from Jamie. Danny settled Jamie back on the couch and sat on the coffee table facing Jamie, Jamie soon fell asleep again just as Mary walked through the door._

" _Danny! Jamie!" called Mary,_

_Danny rushed to the front door and said "shh!"_

" _What's going on Danny?"_

" _Jamie stayed home today-"_

" _What? Why?"_

" _Because he's come down with the flu that's been going around"_

" _Oh poor Jamie!" exclaimed Mary as she went to go upstairs,_

" _He's on the couch mom"_

" _Why?"_

" _Because it was the only way I could keep him from reading his textbooks and getting rest"_

_Mary smiled and made her way into the living room. She reached the couch and bent next to Jamie, Jamie seemed to be sleeping restlessly so Mary gently ran her fingers through Jamie's hair comforting him and Jamie soon fell back into a restful sleep. Mary kissed his head re-wet the compress and headed back over to Danny._

" _I'm going back to your grandmother's and your father said he would be coming by around five after shift before going to his parent's. Do you think you'll be alright looking after Jamie for the rest of today, I can come look after him tomorrow-"_

" _No its fine mom I can look after him tomorrow as well"_

" _Thank you Danny. You're a good brother" and Mary left the house and Danny went back over to the couch._

Danny looked down to see Jamie sleeping peacefully and smiled. He had phoned Linda telling her he would be staying with Jamie for as long as Jamie was still ill with the flu, Linda had said it was probably for the best as Jamie lived on his own and needed as much rest as possible.

Jamie began to shift restlessly and Danny said "just sleep Jamie" and he ran his fingers through Jamie's hair like their mother used to and that seemed to relax Jamie and he fell back into a deep sleep.


	7. G is for Glue Ear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glue Ear is when you have a bad earache/slight loss of hearing.  
> For a change this chapter is going to be set in the past, Jamie is 12 and Danny is 22, Joe is 17 and Erin is 21.

It was Sunday dinner and the family was laughing and joking, all except Jamie who for some reason found he couldn't hear what was being said very well.

"Earth to Jamie!"

"Huh?" Jamie looked up to see an annoyed Danny sitting across from him,

"I said, can you pass the potatoes"

"Oh right. Here" and Jamie passed the bowl to Danny, he looked around to see the whole family smiling obviously thinking he had been caught out daydreaming again. But what none of them realized was that Jamie actually couldn't hear them as clearly as he normally could. Jamie brought his left hand up and rubbed it against his ear hoping that would clear his hearing. Nope. He still could only hear muffled sounds; his hearing seemed to be getting worse.

Soon dinner was over and Mary asked Jamie to help clear the table with Joe. Jamie took his and Erin's plates but didn't hear Joe coming towards him and crashed into Joe, luckily Joe wasn't carrying anything so could save the plates Jamie was carrying from crashing to the floor.

"Jamie watch where you're going!" exclaimed Joe,

"Sorry" murmured Jamie, and before taking the plates from Joe he tried rubbing his ears again. And yet again it didn't help. He walked into the kitchen missing Joe's concerned gaze.

After taking the plates to the kitchen Jamie made his way out of the front door after asking his father if he could go to the park. He was just starting to cross the street when he was suddenly yanked back to the sidewalk and fell to the floor as he saw a car swerve past where he had just been. He looked up after the person who had saved him shook his shoulders sharply, he looked up to see Danny's annoyed and worried face. He could only now hear what Danny was saying because his voice was raised in anger which had come from being worried.

"What the hell Jamie? You know how to cross the street! You're lucky I was here and managed to pull you back!"

"I didn't see the car when I started to cross the street and then I didn't hear it!"

"You didn't hear it?! Jamie I know you daydream a lot, but you _can't_ do it when crossing the street!"

"I wasn't daydreaming!"

"Oh really? Because-"

"Danny what don't you understand? I couldn't _hear_ it! And I _wasn't_ daydreaming!"

In Danny's confusion his voice lowered and Jamie went back to not being able to hear him, he knew he couldn't hear Danny from the fact Danny's mouth was moving and he was hearing no sound.

"What? Danny I can't hear you!" Jamie almost yelled, well to him it sounded like he was talking normally.

Danny looked concerned and then grabbed Jamie's arm pulling him back inside. Danny sat Jamie on the couch and with his hand told Jamie to stay there. Soon Mary and Frank came over and were obviously talking to him, Jamie just shook his head. Erin and Joe with their grandparents came over and all were talking to him loudly hoping he could hear them, but them all more or less shouting at him was overwhelming.

He covered his ears and standing up exclaimed "not so loud!" as he turned and fled to the backyard. He ran over to the oak tree where one summer when Danny had been younger Frank and Henry had built a small tree house, it was one of Jamie's favourite places to go when he wanted some peace and quiet. Well he had the quiet, he just wanted the peace. He settled in a corner and tried rubbing his ears again; he was starting to get worried. But there was nothing to worry about was there? His hearing would get better on its own, his family was overreacting.

Jamie was jolted out of his thoughts when someone stopped him from rubbing his ears, it was Danny.

"That won't help" stated Danny loudly enough for Jamie to hear.

"It might"

Danny shook his head, "mom and dad want to take you to the Doctor's to get checked out"

"It's fine, their overreacting"

"Jamie you're going" Jamie saw no point in arguing, if going to get his ears checked out showed his family they had overreacted then fine.

Danny climbed down first and then went to the car with Jamie and their parents. On his way to the car Erin, Joe, Henry and Rose fussed over Jamie until he shook them off saying "I'm fine, you're all overreacting you'll see" and then he got in the car.

His family hoped they were overreacting but the truth was they knew they weren't. When Jamie had been sat on the couch Frank had come up behind him and banged a saucepan, when that had elicited no response from Jamie Mary and Frank both knew something wasn't right especially when Danny explained what happened when Jamie went to cross the street. Jamie's safety was at risk if this wasn't sorted out and they didn't want to have a neighbour come and tell them Jamie had been hit by a car because he didn't see or most importantly hear a car coming, and Frank thought it was better safe than sorry.

* * *

 

Mary, Frank, Danny and Jamie were sat in an examination room at the Doctor's surgery. The Doctor finished examining Jamie's ears; he then looked at the family and said loudly enough for Jamie to hear.

"By the looks of it Jamie has Glue Ear."

"Excuse me? He's put glue in his ear?" exclaimed Danny looking at Jamie,

"No" smiled the Doctor, "Glue Ear is a common condition in which the middle ear becomes filled with fluid"

"So what has caused this?" asked Frank,

"Well the middle ear is directly behind the eardrum. It is made up of three tiny lever-like bones that carry sound vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear. With glue ear, the build-up of fluid prevents the three tiny bones in the ear from moving freely, which means they can't pass sound vibrations to the inner ear, affecting hearing. Exactly what causes the build-up of fluid is unclear"

"What treatment is needed to get rid of it?" asked Mary as she held Jamie's hand knowing Jamie was acting like it was nothing when really he was worried.

"Most cases of glue ear don't require treatment as the condition will go away by itself; usually within three months. Treatment is normally only recommended when symptoms last longer than three months." Replied the Doctor, Mary and Frank nodded.

"What is the treatment for after three months?" asked Frank,

"After three months the form of treatment would be surgery"

Jamie sucked in a breath. Surgery? He might have to have surgery?

Danny who was sat on the other side of Jamie and who had remained silent turned to Jamie and saw his younger brother trying to look like what he had just heard wasn't worrying him. Soon they left and headed back to the car, Mary and Frank had to monitor Jamie's hearing and come back in three months if it hadn't cleared and if Jamie's hearing had seemed to be better they still had to come back to make sure.

They arrived home and Jamie went back to the tree house brushing past Erin, Joe and his grandparents. Mary and Frank explained to the others what was wrong when Danny followed Jamie. Danny looked up at the tree house and then climbed up, and saw Jamie huddled in the corner where he had found him earlier.

"Jamie" Danny said loudly,

Jamie turned towards him, "what do you want Danny?"

"To see if you're ok"

"I'm fine"

"Really?"

"Yes I am Danny! So leave me alone!"

"If you're fine why do you want to be on you're on?"

"Because I want to! So just leave me alone Danny!"

Danny raised his hands in a sort of surrender and left the tree house, maybe he should have asked Joe to follow Jamie instead, he and Jamie weren't very close so it was no surprise Jamie didn't want to talk to him. He just hoped Jamie's hearing would be better soon.

* * *

 

_~ 3 months later ~_

Jamie's hearing still hadn't improved; it hadn't gotten worse so that was good. Jamie had been driven to and from school, he hadn't been allowed outside without someone going with him, and if he did go to the park he couldn't go off on his own to climb trees or other fun stuff you do at the park. To Jamie it felt like he was being punished for something, the whole family knew Jamie was getting frustrated and worried which wasn't a good combination, they were just waiting for Jamie to blow out and take his anger out on someone. They just never thought it would be at Sunday dinner.

"Jamie!" Danny spoke sharply and loudly,

"What?" retorted Jamie with narrowed eyes,

"You don't need to use your bad hearing as an excuse to ignore me!"

"I wasn't ignoring you!"

"Well it sure seemed like it!"

"You're just blowing things out of proportion as usual"

"Just because you might need an operation doesn't mean you have to take your anger and worry out on us!"

"I'm not worried!" defended Jamie,

"Oh yes you are! I can see it in your eyes!"

"I'm not!"

"It's just a small surgery what's so worrying about it?"

"Nothing! I'm not worried!"

"Poor little Jamie!"

"Consider yourself lucky Danny, at least you can hear things and not have someone with you all the time!"

"Poor Jamie having people around him that care!"

Jamie just glared at Danny before pushing his chair back and storming out of the room. Danny immediately felt guilty, he didn't mean to lash out at Jamie, but he had been worried these past three months so it had been harder to control his frustration. He hated the Glue Ear, but he couldn't physically hit it so unfortunately Jamie had to suffer. Danny had been worried ever since he had saved Jamie from being hit by the car and since then his worry had only grown. Wordlessly Danny got up from the table ignoring the looks he received and went to where he knew Jamie would be.

And sure enough Jamie was in the tree house, where he had spent much of his free time these past three months.

Jamie happened to look around and saw Danny, "what do you want Danny?" said Jamie in a defeated tone which made Danny wince.

"I've come to say sorry; I shouldn't have taken my frustration out on you"

"It's ok"

"No it's not; it was never you're fault I just took it out on you when I shouldn't have"

Jamie just nodded; Danny went over and sat next to Jamie. "It'll be ok Jamie"

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just know"

"I'm scared Danny" said Jamie, well he thought he had whispered it hoping Danny wouldn't hear.

"I know you are Jamie, and it's ok to be scared but it will all work out ok, you'll see" again Jamie nodded trying not to cry, but his tears still fell, not from pain but from fear. Danny pulled Jamie to rest against him and held his younger brother while he let out all of his fear.

* * *

 

_~ 2 weeks later~_

Danny was sat in a chair next to his mom waiting for Jamie to wake up from his anesthetic; Jamie had just undergone a fifteen minute surgery to remove the fluid from his ears. But to Danny those fifteen minutes had felt like hours. He was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard Jamie shift and moan a little.

Danny lent over the bedrail and whispered "Jamie?"

"Danny?"

"Yeah it's me"

"Don't talk so loud" complained Jamie,

Mary chuckled, "the Doctor said everything will seem too loud for a little while"

"So first I couldn't hear and now I can hear everything too loudly?" questioned Jamie,

"Pretty much" replied Danny.

* * *

 

Two hours later Jamie was walking out of the hospital with his mom and Danny. Before they went through the doors Danny halted Jamie and said "I've got a little present for you" and pulled from his jacket a pair of earmuffs at Jamie's questioning look Danny said "it's to stop the sounds from outside being too loud" Jamie laughed as he placed the earmuffs over his ears. Danny smiled; it had been too long since he had heard Jamie's laughter and he reveled in the sound of it. Everything was back as it should be.

"What an ice cream Jamie?" asked Danny,

"Yeah!" came the enthusiastic reply.


	8. H is for Hypothermia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I have any medical procedures wrong I am sorry but as I'm not studying to be a Doctor I am bound to get some (or a lot) of things wrong!

Jamie and Renzulli were two hours into working the graveyard shift; recently some people had been breaking into warehouses and stealing anything they could find. So they were currently driving their squad car around the edge of a group of warehouses to either catch the group or by just being in the area stop the group from attempting to break into anymore warehouses.

"Sarge" said Jamie, something just caught his eye, he could see a faint light in one of the warehouses.

"I see it" replied Renzulli, he stopped the car and they got out silently making their way into the warehouse, they wanted to see how many were in the group before they decided to take on the group.

As they entered the warehouse they drew their guns and Renzulli nodded his head to the left telling Jamie that was where he suspected the group to be. Jamie nodded; they crept through the hall going towards the main space of the warehouse. They stopped by a large container and poked their heads around and counted five men moving around the space.

Jamie leaned more toward Renzulli and whispered "I reckon we need back up Sarge"

Renzulli nodded, they slowly backed away from where they were standing when suddenly Jamie's cell phone began to ring.

The group of men turned to see the two cops in a moment of shock, Jamie and Renzulli were about to react when two more members of the group came up behind them and before Jamie or Renzulli could do anything they were shoved into the metal container they were stood next to, when the doors banged shut Jamie's ringing cell phone went silent.

Jamie and Renzulli looked around in fear to see they were now locked in an industrial freezer; the cold was already biting into them and they pulled their jackets around them more and zipped them up.

"How cold do you think it is?" asked Jamie,

"Probably about -12°C"

"And how long do you think we'll last?"

Renzulli looked Jamie in the eye and replied "maybe a couple of hours"

Jamie's eyes widened in fear, but then he tried to compose himself. He then remembered how they ended up in this situation.

"I'm sorry Sarge"

"What for?"

"I should have made sure my phone was off or at least on silent!"

"Hey there's no need to blame yourself!" insisted Renzulli as he gripped both of Jamie's shoulders,

"Yes there is! It's _my_ phone that went off and got us in this mess!"

"Well who was the person that called you?"

"Why?"

"Just check"

So Jamie pulled out his phone and checked his recent calls. He smiled and at Renzulli's questioning glance he replied "Danny".

* * *

 

When the dial tone cut out Danny put his cell phone back on his desk.

"No answer?" asked Jackie,

"Nah he must be busy"

"And not sleeping?" joked Jackie,

"I know he's not sleeping because like us he is working the graveyard shift. Although I bet his shift is more interesting as with no case we've been stuck with paperwork"

"Oh to be a beat cop" sighed Jackie dramatically. Danny just chuckled, but he couldn't help but agree even though Jamie would have to fill in paperwork it wouldn't be as much as the amount Danny had to do after a case.

"So you gonna call Jamie again?"

"Not yet, if he had to hang up before answering he's probably busy. I'll call him in half an hour" replied Danny, as he returned to his paperwork wanting to get it out the way as soon as possible, not knowing the real reason why Jamie didn't answer his phone.

* * *

 

Jamie and Renzulli had been in the freezer for 20 minutes and were shivering. Renzulli was walking around the freezer trying to keep warm, but Jamie was huddled on the floor leaning against the side. He felt cold, so cold, he couldn't move. He knew he should be doing what Renzulli was doing, but he just couldn't find the energy to do it.

"Reagan?" asked Renzulli worriedly when he turned to see Jamie on the floor.

Jamie couldn't even find the energy to answer Renzulli.

"Jamie?" asked Renzulli as he crouched in front of Jamie.

Jamie looked up at Renzulli and said "I-I am s-s-so c-co-cold Sa-Sarge"

"I kn-know ki-id" Renzulli pulled Jamie to his feet and more or less dragged Jamie around the container trying to keep Jamie at least a little bit warm.

 _Come on Danny! Jamie needs you to find him soon!_ Thought Renzulli, he knew Jamie being smaller than him would mean Jamie would the first to fall unconscious and for his body to slowly shut down. By now he knew Jamie must be at least suffering from mild hypothermia and he himself would be heading in that direction. He estimated that Jamie may have only another half an hour before he fell unconscious and by then would almost certainly have moderate hypothermia.

* * *

 

It had now been half an hour since Danny had tried to call Jamie, Jamie still hadn't called back so Danny picked up his cell phone and called Jamie and immediately he heard "I'm sorry but ther person you are calling-"

He frowned at Jackie, something was wrong. He got up from his desk and without a word Jackie followed him to the tech room.

"Guys I need to get a location on a cell phone"

"Got the number Danny?" asked Jacobs, one of the tech guys.

Danny rattled off Jamie's number and while Jacobs worked his magic he asked "so whose cell phone are you trying to find?"

"My kid brother Jamie's"

"Why?" asked Jacobs not looking up from what he was doing.

"Because I just know something is wrong" snapped Danny, his worry for Jamie making his already short temper shorter.

"Hey no need for that!" calmed Jacobs, from the corner of his eye he saw Danny about to apologize, "don't worry I know how you feel. My younger sister and brother, who are twins, are both beat cops so I worry to and if I thought something was wrong I would do the same as you"

Danny nodded and waited for Jacobs to get a result.

"Got a location" stated Jacobs, "I have been able to find your brother's location by triangulating the location of the phone when you rang him"

"Where is he?" asked Danny,

"Your brother was in a warehouse on the corner of Greenwich Street and Vandam Street"

"Was?" asked Danny,

"His phone is either off or has no signal I was only able to get a location from the phones last position when you called him"

"Thanks Jacobs" said Danny as he ran from the room,

Jacobs called after him "good luck Danny!"

Running to his car Danny was trying to ignore the worst scenarios that were running through his mind. Jamie was fine, that was it he just needed some help. There. Was. Nothing. Wrong.

* * *

 

Jamie and Renzulli had been in the freezer for 40 minutes now, and by now Renzulli had lost the energy to walk (and drag) himself and Jamie around. They were sat on the floor and Renzulli had his arms wrapped around a shivering Jamie, he was shivering himself, but Jamie was shivering more severely and Renzulli now couldn't get a response from Jamie except the odd blink.

"C-co-come on-n k-k-kid, y-yo-you go-tta st-stay with m-m-me. Da-Dann-y's go-n-na be on hi-his w-w-way b-y n-n-n-now"

There was no response from Jamie, Renzulli shook Jamie a little and looked down, Jamie's eyes were shut.

"N-n-no k-k-kid s-st-stay wi-th m-m-me!" Renzulli shakily broke a hand to Jamie's neck and felt for a pulse, he found one, but it was weak. If Danny took 15 or minutes he would be too late to save Jamie.

A few minutes later Renzulli felt himself drifting towards unconsciousness with Jamie still wrapped limply in his arms and then he heard banging.

"Jamie? Tony?" called a voice that sounded like Danny's, "Jamie! Tony! ... JAMIE!"

"D-D-Da-nn-y!" yelled Renzulli weakly.

"Tony?"

"I-I-In he-re!"

Soon the door was pulled open and Danny charged into the freezer with Jackie by the door in case it closed on them.

"Tony?"

"G-g-get Jam-Jamie out n-n-now!"

Danny nodded and then took hold of Jamie and picked him up and carried him out. Jackie then came and helped Renzulli out. Danny laid Jamie on the ground and was frantically rubbing Jamie's arms to get some warmth into him. Jamie's lips had a blue tinge to them and Danny knew that if he had come any later he would have been too late.

"Jamie can you hear me?" there was no response.

Renzulli wandered over sluggishly, "he's been unresponsive for about ten minutes".

Danny looked back down at Jamie, "come on kid wake up!" Danny shook Jamie a little and was awarded with a groan. "Jamie?" Danny took hold of Jamie's hand and squeezed it, "squeeze my hand if you can hear me" Danny let out a sigh of relief when Jamie squeezed his hand. "You'll be alright kid", Jamie squeezed his hand again.

* * *

 

Jamie attempted to open his eyes now he was slowly becoming conscious. As his eyes flickered he only saw blurry shapes, but he knew one of them was Danny, he had known Danny would find him and make sure he was alright. This was why Jamie wanted to open his eyes, he wanted Danny to know he was ok, because he could feel Danny's worry radiating off him in waves. There were new voices approaching, the only voice Jamie knew was Danny's and his seemed to rise in annoyance and Jamie didn't know why. Then the hand in his was being removed and his safety link was being taken from him. He tried to call out to Danny, trying to get him to come back. Suddenly a comforting hand was gently running its fingers through his hair and he knew it was Danny and relaxed and once again fell into the depths of unconsciousness knowing Danny would keep him safe.

* * *

 

Danny was sat next to Jamie, it took some arguing (which didn't really work) and Jamie to get the EMT's to let him sit with Jamie. Danny remembered the relief he felt in seeing Jamie flickering his eyes open. But the EMT's came over and managed to pry his hand from Jamie's. He had protested loudly, but to no avail.

"Hey listen to me! My brother needs me so I'm staying right here!"

"Sir we need to help him and I understand that you want to stay next to him but we need you to move out of the way!"

And Danny had been moved away. But as soon as Danny's hand had been removed from Jamie's, Jamie whimpered from the loss of contact and he began to panic with his eyes only open to half slits. The EMT's tried to settle Jamie, but it didn't work. Danny could see Jamie was getting worked up and went over to Jamie's head and comfortingly ran his fingers through Jamie's hair, glaring at the EMT's daring them to make him leave.

* * *

 

Soon they were travelling in the ambulance; Jamie was wrapped in a bundle of blankets.

"Shouldn't you be wrapping him up in a heat blanket or something?" questioned Danny sharply, not quite ready to forgive the EMT's for making Jamie panic.

"No, when someone has suffered hypothermia it is dangerous to warm them up to quickly" replied the EMT, ignoring Danny's sharp tone.

* * *

 

When they reached the hospital and Jamie was being treated, Danny was left alone with his thoughts. How had Jamie and Renzulli come to be locked in an industrial freezer? Danny knew why Jamie and Renzulli were patrolling areas of warehouses but why would a group of thieves lock two cops in a freezer? There had to be a reason.

"Excuse me Detective Reagan?" asked a Doctor.

"Yes?" replied Danny, realizing this wasn't Jamie's Doctor.

"Sergeant Renzulli would like to speak with you" Danny nodded and followed the Doctor; maybe he could get some answers.

He entered Renzulli's room to see Renzulli propped up against some pillows.

"How you feeling Sarge?"

"Like I've been locked in a freezer"

Danny chuckled, "what did the Doctor say?"

"That I got a case of mild almost moderate hypothermia. How's Jamie?"

"Doctor says he's got moderate hypothermia"

"Don't know why the kid's got a worse case than me" wondered Renzulli

The nurse checking his charts said "because Officer Reagan is smaller. He has less body fat to keep him insulated"

"So you're calling me fat?" questioned Renzulli with mock seriousness.

"Not at all Sergeant" smiled the nurse,

"Do you think she is?" asked Renzulli to Danny,

"Yes, probably because you eat one to many donuts" laughed Danny, the nurse left the room laughing silently to herself.

"Anyway your Doctor said you wanted to speak to me" said Danny as he took a seat next to the bed.

"Yeah, as I knew you would need my statement so I figured I'd get it over with while it's all fresh in my frozen brain".

Danny chuckled and sat back in the chair.

"You gonna get a notebook out or what?" asked Renzulli,

"Oh Tony! Don't be so old school! I'm gonna record what you say" smiled Danny.

"Don't you 'old school' me Detective!" warned Renzulli jokingly.

"You gonna tell me what happened or is your brain to frozen?" smirked Danny.

Renzulli ignored Danny's comment and began telling Danny what happened. When Renzulli finished he turned to see an appalled looking Danny.

"What's wrong Danny?"

"What's wrong?! You're asking me that? It's my fault you got put in the freezer!"

"It wasn't your-"

"Yes it was! I called Jamie and so the group knew you were there!"

"Look it's nice feeling the love from you Reagans every once in a while, but there's no need to blame yourselves!"

"Wait, is Jamie blaming himself?" asked Danny in disbelief.

"I'll let you ask him yourself I need to sleep"

"Alright catch you later Sarge".

Danny walked out of the room to find himself standing in front of the nurse from earlier.

"You can see your brother now"

"Thanks" and Danny followed the nurse into a room two doors down. He stepped into the room to see Jamie hooked up to wires and a machine with his eyes closed. Danny sat in the chair next to the bed and took Jamie's hand. He was pleased to see Jamie had more colour to him and that his hand some warmth to it. Jamie then began to stir.

"Sorry if I woke you" apologized Danny,

"No you didn't I was only dozing" replied Jamie in a hoarse voice, Jamie looked around and then back to Danny and stated "hospital"

"Yep"

"How's Sarge?"

"Fine, got a mild almost moderate case of hypothermia. Bit miffed that the nurse hinted he was fat by saying that's the reason he didn't fall unconscious"

Jamie laughed, "as long as he's ok".

Danny then remembered what Renzulli said about Jamie. "You better not be blaming yourself about what happened kid"

"How did you know?"

"Never mind that! Why are you blaming yourself?"

"Because it is my fault! I should have had my phone off or at least on silent! If I had the group wouldn't have known we were there!"

"I'm the one that called you!"

"And I'm the one who didn't turn their phone off!"

"Right we're going in circles here. Last comment. It's both our faults ok? And you and Renzulli are ok so let's drop the blame game ok?" Jamie nodded.

"It's funny" said Jamie after a moment.

"What is?" asked Danny,

"Deciding to become a cop I always knew there was a risk I could get killed on duty by being shot or stabbed. Never thought of freezing to death in a freezer though!"

Danny smiled slightly, he had to agree with Jamie though, freezing to death in a freezer definitely didn't spring to mind when thinking about the risks of being a cop. But again Danny was reminded of how close he came to losing another brother.

"Glad you didn't" said Danny,

"Glad I didn't what?"

"Freeze to death"

"Me too, would have been embarrassing if I had" said Jamie in an effort to lighten the mood.

"Yeah it would have been. One Reagan brother shot on the street doing his job, the other froze to death defending warehouses"

" _Really_ sounds embarrassing when you say it like that" laughed Jamie. Danny joined in the laughter glad he still had Jamie around to laugh with.


	9. I is for Internal Bleeding

Danny helped Jamie, who was hobbling on crutches, into his apartment.

"Watch your leg!" cautioned Danny,

"I am Danny" countered Jamie, he knew Danny was only trying to help but he had five days of Danny hovering over him and it was getting tiresome.

"I just want to make sure you don't bang your leg and end up needing surgery again"

"It won't come to that Danny"

"You never know!"

"Yes I do Danny! Really Danny I'm fine, soon we'll forget all about what happened five days ago"

"I won't. What were you thinking Jamie?!"

"Huh?"

"Don't give me that!" snapped Danny as he lowered Jamie onto his couch, "you know exactly what I am talking about! What in the world possessed you to run out into the street?!"

"Danny you _know_ why I did it! You were there!"

"Yes I know I was there! I have what happened ingrained into my brain!"

"Well you know what happened so why are you asking me why I did what I did?"

"Did you even _consider_ what might have happened to you?"

"Danny did _you_ consider what might have happened if I hadn't reacted when I did?"

Danny paused before answering, yes he thought about what might have happened if Jamie hadn't reacted when he did. But he had been scared, seeing Jamie lying on the floor for a moment unmoving, not knowing if Jamie had been seriously hurt. Which he had been.

* * *

 

_~Five days earlier~_

Danny and Jamie were enjoying a day off and decided to hang out together as they didn't get many opportunities to see each other apart from Sundays and the odd time they met up on the job. It was almost their dad's birthday so wanted to get him something good so decided to look for a present together.

Jamie was currently telling Danny about the day before when he and Renzulli arrested someone when something caught his eye.

He almost came to a stop, his eyes widened and he exclaimed "Nonono!" and Jamie dashed forward. A little girl of around 7 on the other side of the street had stumbled off the sidewalk and onto the street; she tried to regain her balance and didn't see the speeding car coming towards her. Jamie ran across the street to the little girl who had now seen the approaching car stood still in fear not knowing which way to run. Danny saw what was happening a few seconds after Jamie.

"Jamie!" warned Danny, but Jamie didn't listen he lunged for the girl pushing her out of the way of the oncoming car which tried to brake but had left it too late to stop completely. The car caught Jamie hard on the leg causing Jamie to crash to the sidewalk, he and the little girl rolled away from the edge of the sidewalk. The car came screeching to a halt the driver got out panicking that they might have killed someone, Danny rushed over and saw Jamie lying still on the ground.

"Jamie?"

Jamie groaned and looked up at Danny, "is the girl ok?"

Danny cast a quick glance over to the girl and her mother, "yeah she's ok, just a little shaken up. What about you?"

"My leg hurts really bad"

"Ok, well you'll have to go to hospital to get it checked out" replied Danny, it just so happened two cops who had been patrolling the area rushed over and began taking control of the situation and called a bus for Jamie and the girl.

Danny saw Jamie had gone white as a sheet and was starting to sweat and pant.

"You ok Jamie?" asked Danny,

"Fine"

"Really?"

"Well as fine as I can be"

Before Danny could reply two ambulances came to a screeching halt and two pairs of EMT's came rushing over, one pair went over to the girl while the other pair came over to Danny and Jamie. Danny explained what happened and Jamie told them where he had been struck by the car.

"Right we just need to check your leg for bruising" said one of the EMT's to Jamie,

"What do you mean check for bruising? He was hit by a _car_! A _moving car_! So of course he's going to have bruises!" exclaimed Danny,

The EMT's ignored Danny when even in his pained state Jamie glared up at Danny "they're just doing their job Danny! So leave them alone!"

"Fine" huffed Danny as he sat back, but still close enough to see and hear everything that was going on. Danny could see Jamie was trying to not show any pain, to anyone else it might work but not to Danny who could clearly see Jamie was in pain.

"Jim let's get him to St. Victor's quick"

"What's up?" asked Jamie,

"Looking at the colour of the bruising and how quick it's come up after the impact I suspect you've got internal bleeding, I think one of your blood vessels is leaking or has been ruptured"

Jamie turned to look at Danny who had the look of worry plastered across his face. Danny caught Jamie's gaze and relaxed his facial expression.

"You'll be fine kid" Danny said comfortingly as he patted Jamie's shoulder, Jamie nodded and gritted his teeth when the EMT's placed him on the stretcher.

* * *

 

Danny was sat in the waiting room, after being checked over in the E.R it was confirmed Jamie had internal bleeding in his leg from one of his bloods vessels so Jamie had been whisked off to the O.R, which left Danny with nothing to do but remember what happened. If Jamie had been only one second slower both he and the girl would have been hit by the car and most likely killed. Danny shuddered he would have been only a few feet away while his brother would have been killed right in front of him, he kept reminding himself that Jamie was alive and would be fine. But he still couldn't forget the terror of seeing Jamie run out in front of the car's path to save the girl. Danny was proud of what Jamie did, who wouldn't? But it didn't stop Danny from cursing what almost could have happened.

His depressing thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of the vascular surgeon who operated on Jamie.

"Everything ok Doc?" asked Danny as he rose from his seat,

"Yes everything went well, no complications" smiled the Doctor

Danny sighed in relief. "What happens now Doc?"

"Well we'll keep Jamie here for five or so days to make sure there was nothing we missed and when he goes home he needs to keep off his leg as much as possible for about another five days"

"That'll be fun" muttered Danny, Jamie had the same stubborn streak as everyone else in the family so telling Jamie he wasn't well enough to do something when he felt he was, was going to be a battle of wills.

The Doctor smirked, she gestured for Danny to follow her and she led him to the room Jamie had been put in. She then left the brothers alone; Danny sat in the chair beside the bed and was glad to see the pain lines had gone from Jamie's face. Danny was thankful Jamie was going to be fine, but he couldn't help but dread the next couple of weeks were he would have to make Jamie sit down and keep of his leg. Danny groaned in the anticipation of the battle to come, Operation keep Jamie off his leg had now begun.

* * *

 

_~Present Day~_

"Did you even _consider_ what might have happened to you?"

"Danny did _you_ consider what might have happened if I hadn't reacted when I did?"

"Yes I did! And I'm glad you saved the little girl, but… damn it Jamie! I thought you'd been killed! From the angle that I was standing from to me it looked like the car hadn't only hit your leg and when I ran over you weren't moving! So I thought you were dead ok?" ranted Danny,

"I'm sorry Danny, I didn't know" murmured Jamie, now understanding why Danny had acted the way he had for the past five days.

"Yeah well now you do" muttered Danny looking at the floor,

To lighten the mood Jamie said "as a way of saying sorry I should probably make it easier for you by staying off my leg"

"Are you?" asked Danny looking up,

"Nope"

Danny smiled, "and I wouldn't have it any other way".


	10. J is for Jumper

"Look please just take my hand and get down!" urged Jamie, Jamie had just finished his shift and was walking home when he spotted a man stood on the edge of a roof of an apartment building. Running into the building and flashing his badge at the man on the desk he ran up to the roof and called dispatch on his cell phone.

The man ignored Jamie so Jamie asked "what's your name?"

"Luke. What's yours?" asked Luke as he looked at Jamie.

"Jamie" Luke then turned his head away. _Where the hell are the responding Officers?_ Thought Jamie, he could see Luke was close to jumping. "Please Luke step down!"

"What's the point? I have nothing to live for" wept Luke.

"Yes you do-"

"NO I DON'T!" screamed Luke looking at Jamie, "Katie was my life and now she's gone!"

"I could call her for you and have her come talk to you"

"Well that will be difficult seeing as she's in the cemetery down the street buried six feet under"

"I'm so sorry" murmured Jamie, Luke turned to see genuine sympathy in Jamie's eyes which shocked him, it looked like this Jamie had suffered a loss as well.

"You lost someone close?" asked Luke,

"Yes" replied Jamie thinking of Joe, at Luke's questioning gaze Jamie continued "my older brother"

"So you were close as brothers?" the tension in Luke's shoulders seemed to disappear as he asked more questions. Jamie felt he was getting closer to stopping Luke from jumping.

"He was my best friend"

"What was his name?"

"Joe"

"How did he die?"

Jamie closed his eyes momentarily remembering the pain he felt in learning of Joe's death and how he died. "He was shot. He was a cop and was killed" Jamie reopened his eyes to see Luke watching him with understanding.

"Was he your only sibling?"

"No, I have another older brother and sister. I'm the youngest of four" grimaced Jamie good humouredly.

Luke gave a small smile "I'm the youngest as well, I have an older brother"

"Why don't I call your brother for you?"

"He won't care"

"I'm sure he would"

"That's where you're wrong. One of your bothers was your best friend and I bet you're close to your other brother"

"That's where you're wrong Luke. Yes one of my brothers was my best friend, but I haven't really been close to my other brother. We mostly get into arguments only recently we've been getting on better. And even when we fought most of the time we saw each other, Danny, my brother would still care if I felt the need to jump of a building"

Luke then took a small step away from the edge, but then remembered why he was there and took a step forward saying, "even so, it still won't bring my Katie back!"

"How did she die?" asked Jamie, now it had gotten to the point where Jamie needed anything to talk to Luke about as the responding Officers were taking so long to arrive.

"Hit and run. Six days ago. The police still haven't caught the driver" Luke turned to Jamie, "did your brother's killer get caught?"

"Eventually. It took just over two years. But they were caught" replied Jamie remembering all the stress and worry he went through trying to bring the Blue Templar to justice.

"I doubt Katie's killer will ever be found"

"You never know. A new lead might come up"

"After six days?"

"Hey like I said it took two years for us to find Joe's killer!"

"Us?" questioned Luke,

"Soon after I became a cop I started looking at a group of people and they were Joe's killers. Then after a few months Danny, my dad and I with some others took down the group"

"Your dads a cop?"

"Yeah, it's sort of like the family business" smiled Jamie, "speaking of family do you have any kids?"

"Oh my God! Lily! How could I have been so stupid to think of jumping when she's just lost her mother!" panicked Luke.

"Hey calm down Luke!" ordered Jamie as he climbed up to the edge to stand next to Luke, "how old is Lily?"

"She's eight"

"Ok, now just think about her and calm down ok?"

Luke nodded, they looked down at the sound of screeching tires and the person who got out looked up to see them and shouted "JAMIE WHAT ARE YOU _DOING_?!"

Jamie turned to Luke and smirked "my annoying older brother" Luke nodded and smiled in understanding.

"IT'S OK DANNY!" called Jamie as he looked down and he could see Danny was mad at him for standing on the edge of a building with someone who could still jump and possibly take him with them.

"NO IT'S NOT! GET DOWN NOW!"

"OK!"

Jamie turned to Luke again and laughed "we'd better do as he says otherwise he is going to be _really_ mad. And you do _not_ want to see that!" Luke chuckled in response.

Luke and Jamie turned to step off the edge, but suddenly an old concrete slab gave way and both Jamie and Luke slipped off the edge only just managing to hang onto the building. The roof door banged open and Danny ran over to see Luke and Jamie gripping onto the edge in desperation.

"Jamie!"

"Danny!"

Danny leant over the edge of the roof; he was one person which meant he could only help one of them and by the looks of the concrete slabs which made the edge of the roof he didn't have a lot of time. Danny knew as a cop he had to help the almost jumper first, but his baby brother was also hanging on for his life.

"Danny grab hold of Luke"

"But Jamie-" argued Luke,

"No Danny take Luke" insisted Jamie as he tightened his grip on the concrete slab he was holding onto to.

Danny nodded and grabbed Luke's arms and began to pull, but his eyes never left Jamie's. Silently willing Jamie to hold on that little bit longer. But the concrete slab Jamie was holding onto began to wobble; Danny saw this and tried to pull Luke to safety quicker. Jamie broke eye contact with Danny to look around to see what might be able to save him; he saw part of a fire exit that was in front on a window so he tried to shuffle along so he would be in line with it.

"Jamie" cautioned Danny staring wide eyed at Jamie as he still continued to hoist Luke up and over the edge. Jamie didn't reply and concentrated on what he was doing, but he over balanced the slab and the slab broke and Jamie fell.

"Jamie!" yelled Danny; the fear for his brother's life gave Danny the extra strength to pull Luke over the edge. He then took a shaky breath and prepared himself to look over the edge dreading what he would see. But he did not see what he expected, he expected to see Jamie lying on the sidewalk below, but instead he found Jamie lying on a fire exit next to a window with a shocked old woman looking at Jamie through her window.

Danny turned hearing Luke whimpering "I'm sorry, your brothers dead because of me!"

Danny crouched in front of Luke "it's fine, he's ok. He's not dead" and with that Danny went over to the ladder and climbed down to Jamie.

* * *

 

Jamie gasped in shock as the slab gave way and his hold on the roof was lost. As he fell he looked up to see Danny's wide and panicked eyes, luckily for Jamie he had managed to position himself close enough to the fire exit that as he fell he managed to grasp hold of one of the railings and haul himself up and over the railing before collapsing on his back and panting from the shock and effort. He tried to calm his breathing down, but found he couldn't draw enough breath into his lungs. The next thing he was aware of was someone crouching next to him and running their hands down his sides checking for injures and when the person found none he heard the person talk to someone else, something about an ambulance.

"Jamie?"

Jamie blinked his eyes open, "Danny?"

"Yeah it's me kid"

"Luke?"

"He's ok, for a minute he thought you were dead. So did I"

"I'm not"

"I can see that _now_ "

There was silence for a few moments and Jamie began to close his eyes again.

"Jamie are you ok?"

"Yeah, just trying to get over the shock" mumbled Jamie, "did you get someone to call an ambulance?"

"Yep"

"But I'm fine"

"Well both you and Luke need to get checked over"

"Help me up will ya" slowly Danny helped Jamie into a sitting position leaning against the wall of the building.

"What were you thinking Jamie?"

"What do you mean? I had to talk him down"

"Yeah talking is one thing but standing on the edge next to him is another!"

"But-"

"No you listen to me! Even if he wasn't going to jump he could have slipped and taken you with him!"

"But that didn't happen!"

"Jamie put yourself in my place! I arrive on scene and see you standing on the edge of a building with a man who planned to jump! And then when I get to the roof I see that you're hanging off the edge of the building! And then you fall! I thought you'd been killed Jamie!"

"Sorry Danny" apologized Jamie looking at Danny's worried and stressed face,

Danny sighed "it's ok, just _please_ don't do anything like that again!"

"You got it!" smiled Jamie.

* * *

 

Two days later Jamie and Danny knocked on an apartment door; Luke opened it and was surprised to see the two brothers that saved him.

"Hi Jamie, Danny"

Danny nodded when Jamie said "hi Luke, can we come in a sec?"

"Sure" and Luke opened the door wider, he closed it after Danny and Jamie entered the apartment.

"What's this about?" asked Luke,

Danny looked at Jamie and said "you tell him, you're the one who found it"

Jamie smiled and turned to Luke, "I went over the case notes of Katie's hit and run when I looked into it I looked at CCTV cameras in the area and found the car. The driver has been arrested"

Luke gaped in shock for a moment and then smiled "thank you, thank you so much!"

"No problem" replied Jamie. Danny and Jamie stayed to talk with Luke for a little while but they had to leave as they both had to get back to their shifts.


	11. K is for Knee

It was Sunday and the family had just had dinner fortunately with no one storming out of the room or any arguments taking place. This week it was Danny's and Jamie's turn to clear the table, so while everyone else was sat in the living room Danny and Jamie started to wash the dishes. Jamie had opted to do the drying, as he set a plate on the counter across the kitchen from the sink he turned to go back to the sink but twisted his knee and pain sparked from his knee to the top of his leg. He gasped in pain as he collapsed onto the floor, Danny turned hearing his brother's pained gasp and rushed over seeing Jamie lying in a heap on the floor.

"Jamie what's wrong?"

"My knee" gasped Jamie as he gripped on his knee hoping it would stop the shooting pain.

"Dad!" called Danny, Frank came rushing in hearing the worry and panic in his eldest son's voice.

"What's going on Danny?"

"Jamie has done something to his knee"

Frank bent down next to Jamie and took in the situation, Jamie's face was pale from the pain and Frank could see Jamie was desperately trying to not let his pain show. Frank placed a hand on Jamie's shoulder and gripped it trying to ground Jamie.

"It's ok son"

"Dad?" Frank was concerned that Jamie had only just noticed Frank was next to him,

"I'm here son"

"What do you think happened?" asked Danny,

"Jamie what happened?" asked Frank gently,

"I put one of the plates on the counter and then I turned back to the sink and then my knee became so painful I couldn't stand on it" whispered Jamie,

"So you twisted it?" asked Danny,

"I must have done" replied Jamie,

"Is it your left knee Jamie?" asked Frank,

"Yeah"

"Sounds like you've aggravated your old cartilage injury"

"But that was years ago!" protested Danny,

"Can still happened Danny, I think Jamie should go to the hospital to get checked out all the same though"

"I'll take him"

" _He's_ right here!" protested Jamie weakly,

"I know you are kid, but I'm still taking you to the hospital" said Danny softly,

Henry then popped his head around the doorway to see his son and eldest grandchild bending over his youngest grandchild, who was lying on the floor in obvious pain. "Everything alright?"

Frank looked up "not quite pop, Danny is taking Jamie to the hospital"

"Why?"

"I think Jamie has aggravated his old knee injury"

Henry nodded in understanding, but before leaving the room to update the others he patted Jamie's shoulder "it'll be alright Jamie", Jamie could only nod in reply as the pain was getting unbearable.

While Danny waited in the waiting room for the Doctor to come tell him the news on Jamie's knee, he remembered the last time Jamie had injured his knee.

_The family had gathered to watch 14 year old Jamie play soccer. In the excitement of the match Danny had stood up and was yelling "come on Jamie tackle him!"_

" _Danny stop it!" ordered Linda as she pulled on Danny's arm making him sit down again but he would just got back up. At half time Jamie wandered over to collect a drink from his mother._

" _You're playing very well Jamie"_

" _Thanks mom" smiled Jamie,_

" _Keep playing like this and you'll be Captain of the team before you know it" encouraged Joe,_

_Jamie gulped down his drink greedily, he had been running all over the place because two teammates were ill they had to put two others in the positions they weren't very good at, so Jamie had to do what he was supposed to and them as well. He was so tried and thirsty, but he wasn't about to admit to his family that he was tired; Danny would never let him live it down!_

_Just before Jamie went back over to his team to start the second half Danny pulled him aside._

" _Right kid you gotta make sure that number 8 doesn't get past you otherwise he'll score"_

" _But Danny that's Mark's job!"_

" _Well now it's yours as well"_

" _I'm just gonna ignore that"_

" _I give you good advice to help you win and you dismiss it!"_

" _Yeah because when you used to play matches you would tell your team what to do and you'd lose!" protested Jamie,_

_Danny opened his mouth to answer back but Jamie just jogged over to his team mates._

" _Face it Danny Jamie knows what he is doing whereas you never did" smirked Joe,_

" _Shut up Joe!"_

_Joe just shared a look with Henry and both of them tried to hide their laughter._

_Ten minutes into the second half Jamie had managed to get the ball and was running to the goal with his family shouting "go Jamie! Go on!"_

_But another player came up beside Jamie and tackled him getting the ball and causing Jamie to fall awkwardly to the floor. Jamie attempted to get back up but straight away fell back down. Danny moved instantly and ran to his brother who was trying to not let his tears of pain fall._

" _Jamie what's the matter?"_

" _My… knee hurts" gasped Jamie,_

_Danny could see Jamie was trying to blink his tears away so Danny pulled Jamie's head into his shoulder so no one could see Jamie cry._

" _Danny I want to go home" whimpered Jamie,_

" _I know kid, I know" Danny then hooked his arms around Jamie's back and under Jamie's legs mindful of his hurt knee, he then stood up and carried Jamie off the pitch over to their worried family. The teams stood standing in shock._

" _Jamie" at the sound of his mother's voice Jamie turned his head away from Danny's shoulder and looked at Mary._

" _Mom"_

" _Oh Jamie honey" soothed Mary, wordlessly Danny carried Jamie over to the car he had shared with his parents, Linda said she's get a lift with Erin and Henry so Jamie wouldn't be cramped in the car. Danny gently passed Jamie over to Frank and climbed into the back, and then between them Frank and Danny managed to settle Jamie stretched on the backseats with his back leaning against Danny. Jamie was sniffling from trying not to cry from the pain; Danny wrapped an arm around Jamie._

" _It's ok Jamie"_

_They reached the hospital and Mary opened the door Danny was next to, Danny then backed out and then gently pulled Jamie out of the car and carried him into the E.R. The Doctor told them Jamie would need a MRI scan to see what type of injury Jamie's knee had sustained. For Danny the two hours that had passed since they had arrived at the hospital seemed to last more like ten hours. Danny, Mary and Frank were gathered in Jamie's room while they waited for the scan results, Jamie nervously pulled on his blanket._

" _Jamie don't do that" said Mary,_

" _Ok mom, sorry" replied Jamie, but he still subconsciously continued to pull the blanket. Mary noticed this but said nothing else, the reason she had asked Jamie to stop was because he was making her more nervous and she felt she had to put on a brave front for Jamie's sake._

_The Doctor entered the room and straight away began speaking knowing the family wanted to know if Jamie was going to be alright. "Well Jamie your knee has sustained a cartilage injury but it is not as serve as it could have been so there would be no need for surgery"_

_Everyone in the room heaved a sigh of relief. "So what happens now?" asked Frank,_

" _Well as the injury isn't serve Jamie will need a crutch to help keep the pressure of his knee for a few months while once a week coming to the hospital for some_ _Physiotherapy_ _and in about six to seven months Jamie's knee should be fine"_

" _So I can still play soccer and basketball?" asked Jamie,_

" _In about eight months yes" smiled the Doctor, "but you will still have to be careful because any slight twist to your knee can cause the injury to come back" the Doctor then left to tend to his other patients._

_Danny smiled at the happy and relieved look on Jamie's face._

After three hours at the hospital it had been confirmed Jamie had aggravated his old knee injury and had been given a crutch again and some painkillers. The injury hadn't been as bad as the injury Jamie sustained at the soccer match so he would only need his crutch for about a month. Knowing Jamie as he did Danny estimated that in two or three weeks Jamie would stop using his crutch and at Sunday dinners would use the excuse 'I left it at home'.

Danny helped Jamie into his apartment, "so Jamie are you actually going to listen to the Doctor and use your crutch for a month as you were told?" asked Danny trying to look and sound serious.

"I have no idea what you are inferring Danny" said Jamie faking innocence.

"Uh huh"

The two brothers looked at each other trying to look serious but they both burst out laughing.

"How did you know I would try and stop using my crutch earlier?" asked Jamie,

"Because I know what you're like"

"Am I that predictable?"

"When you're injured yes you are"

Jamie's smile slipped off his face and he sighed as he sat down on the couch.

"What's wrong Jamie?" asked Danny as he sat next to Jamie,

"I just can't believe I aggravated my old knee injury!"

"Well the Doctor back then said it could happen"

"But that was thirteen years ago!" protested Jamie,

"Well I guess dad was right in saying that it can still happen"

"But turning around aggravates it but me chasing after perps and jumping over things doesn't, I just don't get it!"

"Well maybe it was the angle in which you turned around"

"Has to be I guess"

Jamie sighed again.

"What now?" asked Danny,

"Just a bit embarrassed about it"

"Don't worry I won't tease you about it. Well until you're better that is"

"I love how you show your concern" replied Jamie dryly.

"That's what older brothers are for" smirked Danny, Jamie just shook his head smiling.


	12. L is for Laryngitis

This was not how Jamie had planned to spend his time off work. The plan was he was taking some much needed time off and Henry had offered Jamie to spend part of the two weeks at his father's and grandfather's house as Frank was going away for a few days to a conference in Boston and Henry said he wouldn't mind having the company. Jamie had agreed thinking it could be nice to spend some time with his grandfather, just the two of them.

But now Jamie was sat huddled on the couch with a blanket and a glass of water. Personally he didn't think he needed the blanket but Henry had insisted and Jamie knew there was no point in arguing.

Henry walked into the living room looked at Jamie and said "how you feeling Jamie?"

Jamie looked up at Henry and the look on his face said it all.

"That bad huh?"

Jamie just nodded; Henry walked over and squeezed his shoulder "you'll be better in no time kid" again Jamie nodded.

* * *

 

Jamie looked up at the sound of a door closing and found he was now lying on the couch and realized he must have fallen asleep.

"Hey grandpa!" called Danny as he entered the house,

Henry rushed into the hall not knowing Jamie was already awake, "shh! Jamie's asleep on the couch!"

"Oh! Hope I haven't woken him"

"Don't think so he seemed pretty out of it earlier"

"I came round to see how he was"

"He's fed up and wants to help with stuff around the house, but when he wants to check on what needs doing he gets frustrated when he can't speak"

"Poor kid"

At Danny's comment Jamie tried to protest at Danny making it out like he was a sick child but instead caused a coughing fit. This brought Henry and Danny rushing into the room, Jamie was finding it hard to draw enough breath and this only made his coughing worse.

"Easy kid just take it easy" soothed Danny,

Finally Jamie's coughing fit ended and he croaked out "getting fed up"

"I know you are, but you also know you can't talk as you've got laryngitis"

"It sucks" said Jamie hoarsely,

"What did I just say? No talking!"

Jamie huffed in annoyance.

"Just rest Jamie"

"That's not going to help" croaked Jamie,

"Well I know one thing that will. Not talking!"

In reply Jamie just stuck his tongue out at Danny who just smirked in return. As Danny left Jamie to rest he remembered the worry he had over Jamie two days ago when he had tried to call Jamie with no answer.

_Danny knew Jamie had the next two weeks off and some of the two weeks would be spent staying with their grandfather. So the day before Frank went away Danny and Jamie arranged to hang out and go for a beer on Danny's day off as they never really saw much of each other apart from Sunday dinner and so they were trying to make the 'bridge' Linda had talked about. The plan was Danny was going to meet Jamie at Jamie's apartment, so Danny got out his cell phone to call Jamie to tell him he was on his way over. But there was no answer. Danny just shrugged; he figured Jamie might be sleeping in, which he couldn't blame him. For the past couple of weeks Jamie had been worn down, between working hectic shifts and having to cover for other Officers who were off sick Danny was worried Jamie was going to make himself ill so Jamie's time off came at the right time._

_Danny let himself into Jamie's apartment, Jamie had given him a key two months ago saying he thought it was a good idea seeing as he had gotten hurt and ill a lot over the year that it might be safer for Danny to have a key to let himself in with. Danny had laughed it off but kept the key while silently agreeing with Jamie that it was probably for the best._

_Danny walked into the apartment and heard movement coming from the kitchen._

" _Jamie is your cell phone dead or what?"_

_There was no reply and Danny's worry made him draw his off duty weapon and moved towards the kitchen. He leant against the wall and heard someone walking towards him, when he figured they were near enough he reached out and pulled them up against the wall he was just leaning against with his gun pointed at them. Then he took a good look at who he had pinned up against the wall._

" _Jamie!" exclaimed Danny as he hastily lowered his weapon and put it away._

" _What the hell Jamie?! Ever heard of answering someone? Seriously kid I almost blew your head off! And you didn't even say anything!"_

_Jamie opened his mouth and no sound came out, well not that Danny heard._

" _Well? Going to tell me why you didn't answer and nearly make me shoot you?!"_

_Jamie opened his mouth and hoarsely whispered "I can't talk"_

_Danny's serious and worried look slipped and he bent forward laughing,_

" _Not funny" whispered Jamie,_

" _Yeah kid it is" laughed Danny,_

_For a few minutes Danny tried to stop laughing only to look at Jamie trying to speak which only set him off laughing again and Jamie's annoyed look didn't help. Eventually Danny calmed down, straightened up and said "come on I'm taking you to dad's and grandpa's"_

" _Not going till tomorrow" croaked Jamie,_

" _Well I don't think they'll mind you coming over today, then you can have all three of us looking after you"_

" _Not that ill" protested Jamie weakly while Danny pushed him towards his room,_

" _Well you're going either way, what if something happened? You can't talk so won't be able to call for help"_

" _You're overact-" what Jamie was saying was interrupted by a coughing fit._

" _Come on kid let's get your stuff"._

_That's why twenty minutes later Jamie was at his grandfather's, he and Danny had arrived and immediately Frank and Henry had Jamie sit down despite Jamie's quiet protests._

Jamie had finally had enough, there was no way he was resting on the couch anymore. He'd only lost his voice! Henry's and Danny's looking after him had frustrated him and he'd now reached his breaking point, there only so much mother henning he could take especially when there was nothing seriously wrong!

Jamie folded the blanket and set it on the arm of the couch and went to the kitchen for some water.

"Hey kid what are you doing up? I told you to rest!" said Danny as he spotted Jamie enter the kitchen,

Jamie ignored Danny and got a bottle of water intending to leave the kitchen to get away from Danny being in mother hen mode.

"Jamie I know you can't talk but that doesn't mean you can ignore me!"

Jamie turned to face Danny with his arms folded, "go and rest Jamie" ordered Danny,

Jamie rolled his eyes in annoyance and walked out of the kitchen, out the back door and walked down the drive, leaving a shocked Danny behind.

Jamie walked the five minutes to the nearest park and realized he had left his bottle of water behind. He huffed in annoyance he didn't even have his wallet to buy a drink of water. He sat on a bench and decided on his next move. Did he stay here for a little while then go back to his grandfather's? Or did he go to his apartment and text Danny saying he wanted some time on his own and to tell their grandfather that he would come back when he was better. The second choice was more appealing to Jamie in his current state, but he knew if he did that Danny would come and get him. _Why did I give him that key?_ Thought Jamie to himself in self-pity, he just wanted some peace and quiet was that too much to ask for?

Jamie was pulled from his thoughts when someone patted his shoulder with a bottle of water; Jamie took the bottle looking up at the person smiling his thanks. Then spotted the person was Danny, he sighed in annoyance was there no escaping his family?!

He considered making a run for it but figured Danny would only find him again. Danny sat down next to him and said "I hope you're not considering running off"

Jamie gaped at Danny, _how did he know that?_

Danny chuckled knowing what the look on Jamie's face meant, "I know what you're like kid, when you feel like you're being closed in by other people you always make a run for it. To this park to be exact"

 _Am I really that predictable?_ Thought Jamie,

"Just to us kid" smiled Danny, again guessing what Jamie was thinking. "Was grandpa and I that bad?" asked Danny sheepishly.

Jamie looked at Danny with a look that said 'really? You're asking me that?'

"Yeah I guess we were mother henning you a bit" Danny smiled sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck,

"A bit? A bit! I think you'll find it was a lot!" croaked Jamie, it hurt to talk but he wanted to get his view on the situation across.

"It's just because we care Jamie"

"I know you care but could you just lay off a little?" asked Jamie hopefully,

"We can try kid, but when you were really little, like two and three, any cold you caught would be really bad for you. The Doctors said your immune system was just a little weaker than it normally would be and they said it would get better with time. Which it did, but a cold for us would be like the flu for you".

"Is that why whenever I am ill everyone mother hen's me more than anyone else?" asked Jamie curiously, he had never heard this before.

"Pretty much, once when you were three you had a very high fever and mom and dad took you to the hospital, everyone was worried that we were going to lose you"

"Huh, never knew that"

"Yeah, well no one wanted to relive that night by retelling what happened. When you were better Joe was nine at the time and started following you around, it was like he felt that if he was around to make sure you were alright you wouldn't get sick anymore. It was hard for me and Erin to explain to him that it wasn't his fault when you got sick again"

"Joe blamed himself when I got sick?"

"Yeah, he felt because he was your older brother that it was his job to look after you and that included fighting off illnesses"

Jamie smiled remembering how Joe was always there for him, even when Joe had been studying for exams he had found the time to teach Jamie to ride a bike when Jamie begged him because all his friends were able to ride a bike and he didn't want to be left behind.

"Ready to go back? I promise I'll try and back off and I'll also try to get grandpa to back off"

Jamie smiled and nodded "if it starts getting too much again I'm taking the key I gave you off your keychain and making a run for my apartment and I won't answer the door"

"Well I'll just kick your door in" smirked Danny,

"Somehow I'm not surprised you said that"

"You just can't get rid of me"

"I know. I've tried"

"Shut up you're not supposed to be talking!"

Jamie just smirked as he drank some water to help sooth his throat and got up from the bench and made his way back to the house with Danny walking beside him.


	13. M is for Migrane

It was midday on Jamie's day off and he was still in bed, although not by choice. In fact he would rather be on shift than having to deal with his migraine. It felt as if someone was trying to rip his brains out, just moving his head an inch caused excruciating pain to shoot around his head. He'd had to position himself facing away from the window because the light was only making the whole thing worse. He knew if he took some painkillers it would probably help, but they were in the bathroom and he didn't have the strength to make the small walk to the bathroom.

_Note to self, leave painkillers in bedside cabinet in case of future migraines._

Jamie decided sleeping it off might help it would at least pass the time. Just as he was finally drifting off to sleep he heard the piercing ring of his cell phone. He groaned as he patted his hand on the bedside cabinet feeling for his phone he was going to turn it off but squinting at the screen he saw it was Danny.

_If I don't answer he's only going to come and knock my door in. Again._

He picked his phone up as it stopped ringing. He kept hold of his phone knowing Danny would call another three times before he would make his way over.

_Guess it's bad that I've noticed a pattern on how many times Danny would ring before coming to knock on my door for a minute for kicking it open._

And sure enough the ringing started. Jamie didn't even look at the caller ID before answering.

"Hi Danny" croaked Jamie,

" _How'd you know it was me?"_

"Lucky guess"

" _Geez kid you sound awful"_

"Thanks"

" _No really, what's wrong?"_

"Migraine"

" _Ouch"_

"Exactly. Gonna hang up to go to sleep"

" _Wait Kid!"_

"Not so loud!" groaned Jamie as he pulled the phone away and putting it on speaker.

" _Opps, sorry"_

"What do you want?"

" _Have any painkillers?"_

"In bathroom. Haven't gotten up"

" _I'm coming over"_

"Don't need to" Jamie was starting to fade fast and was very close to falling asleep.

" _Well I still am"_

"Just don't kick my door in again"

" _When have I done that?"_

"Not sure, but you've done it four times"

" _Only because I care"_

"I know"

" _See you in a few"_

"Ok"

" _Jam-"_

"Gotta go Danny!" Jamie hung up and threw his phone to the side and leaned over his head almost shoving his head into the bucket as his bedside. He had no idea why it was there, but was thankful that it was. He brought up his dinner from last night and tried to get back into his bed properly but just didn't have the strength. And ended up with his head hanging over the edge of the bed, it didn't help his migraine in the slightest but luckily for him he drifted off to sleep before the pain could really hit him.

* * *

 

Jamie sluggishly opened his eyes to hearing a soft voice murmur from his bedroom doorway.

"Oh kid, it isn't your day is it?" the person who the voice belonged to, which Jamie slowly figured out to be Danny, walked over and gently put Jamie's head back on to the pillow.

"Dan'y" slurred Jamie with pain and exhaustion.

"Yeah it's me. Hang on a sec and I'll sort the bucket out and bring you some painkillers"

"Bring the whole packet" said Jamie starting to wake up a bit more.

"Why? So you can kill yourself?"

"Well at least the pain would stop" smirked Jamie; Danny shook his head fondly happy to see Jamie act and sound a little more like himself.

Danny returned with the bucket, a bottle of water and the packet of painkillers.

"Now really why did you want the whole packet?" asked Danny as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"To put in my bedside cabinet in case I get another migraine overnight"

"Well aren't you Mr Organised" teased Danny,

"Shut up Danny" huffed Jamie as he took a painkiller dry swallowing it.

Danny smiled as he left the room to get Jamie a drink. By the time he returned Jamie was slowly falling asleep again in the bliss of absent pain.

"Before you go to sleep drink this to help keep you hydrated" said Danny as he handed Jamie a bottle of water.

"Thanks Danny"

"No problem kid" Danny took the bottle from Jamie and helped settle him back under the covers. He ran his fingers through Jamie's hair to help sooth him to sleep the way their parents used to when they were hurt or ill. Soon Jamie was out for the count; Danny sat on the edge of the bed for a few moments more watching his younger brother sleep. Remembering times when Jamie was ill and the family thought he wouldn't survive, Danny thought of all the people Jamie had saved in his career as a cop and thought how lucky those people were that Jamie had survived childhood. Danny knew himself he was lucky Jamie had lived because when Jamie was born like he had done with both Erin and Joe, Danny made a promise that he would watch out for Jamie and look after him. Joe and Danny took Jamie's illnesses hard, not knowing what they could do to help. Even when Jamie had grown up Joe and Danny would come and look after him if he was ill. Which was why on Jamie's days off Danny would call him to make sure Jamie was ok, because he didn't want to find out one day that something had happened to Jamie.

Jamie groaned awake and Danny looked at his watch to find out in shock he had been sat on the bed for almost two hours and figured Jamie was waking up because of the pain coming back. So he got a painkiller from the packet and reached for the bottle and had them ready by the time Jamie blinked awake.

"Here you go kid" said Danny as he handed the painkiller and bottle over.

After Jamie had taken the pill he looked up at Danny and said "thanks Danny"

"Don't mention it" Danny stood up and made his way into the living room and put the T.V on quiet to wait for Jamie's migraine to pass.


	14. N is for Noose

Danny was sat at his desk when his computer made a beeping noise to signal he had received an email. With one hand not really looking at the screen, when he did he dropped his pen in shock. The email read:

_Dear Detective Reagan,_

_This is no prank. We ambushed two cops and one according to his badge is called Renzulli, and I know that you know his partner, one Officer Reagan. I know Officer Reagan is your younger brother. This is nothing personal but I hate cops and I thought seeing as one of my unlucky victims is your brother I thought I'd give you the courtesy of telling you this. You will NEVER see your brother alive again! Look at the attached photo and observe what is in the photo, something you can clearly see will be used to end your brother's life, the thing that you will see will not be used to end Renzulli's life I have a different plan for him, but he will watch as the life bleeds out of your brother. But I guarantee by the time your techs work out where the photo was taken you will already be too late. I am sorry for your loss Detective Reagan, I feel bad that you would have lost both your brothers but I wanted revenge on the NYPD and the two cops I happened to ambush I picked randomly, if I could I would spare your brother, but I can't back out now. For what it is worth I am truly sorry._

_Sincerely,_

_Person who wants revenge against cops._

Panicked Danny opened the attached photo and gasped. Jamie and Renzulli had their hands tied together and were slumped against a wall, remembering what was in the email Danny scanned the photo and drew a panicked breath. There was a noose hanging from the ceiling. Jamie was going to be hung!

Danny hastily forwarded the email to his Sergeant and another to one of the techs (who was a good friend and who had graduated the Academy the same year as him). He then ran up to the where the techs had their equipment. He burst into the room and headed over to his friend.

"Danny I'm so sorry" Detective Ramon said, after reading through the email he was already working on getting a location.

"Tom _please_ tell me you can use something in that photo that will lead me to Jamie" pleaded Danny.

"I'm glad to say I can. This idiot thought he was clever blacking out the windows leaving a small gap to see if we can get a view from it and by using a dummy email account"

"So what's the good news?"

"Well I can track where the email was sent from and after getting the address I have compaired it to a photo of a warehouse I got off Google maps and it's our lucky day because it matches"

"Thank you thank you!" gasped Danny.

Tom wrote down the address and handed it to Danny, "go get that sick SOB Danny"

"Don't worry he won't know what's hit him, I'll tell him he thoroughly underestimated our techs"

"Thanks, but stop wasting time! GO!"

Danny needed no further encouragement, he was gone like a racehorse on a racetrack. When he got up to his squad to get Jackie his Sergeant had gathered a small team together to be also assisted by SWAT.

"Got the address?" asked Jackie,

"Oh yeah, that SOB _really_ underestimated the techs, or more accurately Tom Ramon" replied Danny as he raced out of the Precinct.

* * *

 

Jamie blinked after a blinding flash lightened the darkened room.

"That lovely photo is going to your brother" announced the figure in the corner, "for what it's worth I don't like making your brother loose his last remaining baby brother"

"Then why do this?" asked Jamie,

"For revenge" came the reply,

"Yeah we got _that_ part" grounded out Renzulli.

Jamie threw a pointed look at Renzulli muttering "not helping". Jamie turned back to the figure hiding in the shadows and said louder "why do you want revenge against us?"

"It's not you personally"

"Then who?" asked a confused Jamie.

"The NYPD in general, you two just happened to fall into my trap"

"But why revenge against the NYPD?" asked Jamie, talking over Renzulli not wanting his friend to accidentally make matters worse as Renzulli was already having a bad day and the knock to the head and finding out he had walked into a trap only made his bad mood worse.

"For my baby brother"

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking" asked Jamie,

"If you don't mind me asking? What are you _saying_ kid?" demanded Renzulli.

"No you ask a fair question as it is the reason why I am going to kill you. You see my baby brother Nathan was a cop, walking a beat for five years. The whole family was proud of him, worried but proud. Whenever we went out with friends I would boast about Nat all the time. But you see one night he came across two drug dealers fighting, he and his partner called for backup a Detective was in the area and when Nat and his partner moved towards the drug dealers instead of helping the Detective shot Nat and his partner" the figure drew in a shaky breath, "the Detective was buddies with the dealers. He escaped and no one could find him, three months later they discovered where he was. They entered his apartment to find he had hung himself."

"I don't see how that involves taking revenge on the NYPD" Renzulli softly said, now feeling a small amount of sympathy for his soon to be killer.

"Because if Nat's backup had gotten there sooner they would have caught the Detective and the dealers! And then justice would have been served, for Nat and his partner!" yelled the figure.

"I know how you feel" said Jamie, "my brother's killer did the same, but you don't see me taking it out on the people who should have been my brother's backup, that's just not how it is done!" insisted Jamie.

"I'm sorry I truly am" chocked the figure, "but I have to do this. For Nat"

"Your brother wouldn't want you to do this!" cried Jamie, desperately trying to make the figure see.

"What about your family? How will they cope once you've done this and end up in prison for the rest of your life?" demanded Renzulli.

"My parents are my only family, and they're both dead! Nat's death killed them! It took two years but it killed them!"

The figure marched over and yanked Jamie up and made him stand on a chair and tied a noose around his neck, pulling it tight.

"You deserve to know my name. Matthew Carter. And really I am sorry, I hope you believe me" Matthew looked into Jamie's eyes and Jamie could see the regret shining through Matthew's eyes.

"Matthew don't" pleaded Jamie, "if not for me, for my brother. I can't make him go through losing another brother, I _can't_ he wouldn't be able to cope. Matthew _please_ you know what it is like losing a brother don't make my brother go through that _twice_!"

"Matthew listen to him!" pleaded Renzulli.

"I'm sorry" Matthew brought his leg back and Jamie stared at him wide eyed in terror. Matthew's leg connected with the chair causing it to crash to the floor, Jamie felt himself fall and came to a jerky stop as the noose tightened around his neck, Matthew hadn't tied the knot right, it didn't snap Jamie's neck, Jamie was going to be strangled to death. Jamie's vision was becoming dark as he couldn't draw enough breath he could hear muffled shouting of Matthew and Renzulli.

"I'm sorry!" cried Matthew over and over again as he stared at Jamie,

"Matthew cut him down! It's not too late to save him! Matthew!" yelled Renzulli desperately trying to help save his friends life.

Jamie then heard doors banging open and more shouting, he heard a gunshot and saw Matthew drop to the floor and a second gunshot brought him crashing to the floor gasping for breath.

* * *

 

Danny charged through the doors and was met with a sight he never dreamed of even in his darkest nightmares. Renzulli was yelling at the perp called Matthew, the Matthew guy was yelling that he was sorry and Jamie was hanging from a noose wriggling from the strain of not being able to breathe. A SWAT officer brought the perp down when another shot at the noose wanting to cut Jamie down as fast as possible. Danny continued running forward as Jamie landed on the floor.

Danny bent down and loosened the noose from around Jamie's neck removing it and then releasing his hands.

"Jamie?" choked Danny,

"Danny?" asked Jamie in a hoarse whisper,

"Yeah it's me kid" replied Danny stifling a sob.

"Knew you'd get here in time. Just as always" murmured Jamie.

Danny then began to let his tears fall as he gathered Jamie up and hugged him tight assuring himself Jamie was still alive, "I very nearly wasn't kid" he sobbed.

"You always seem to come at the right time to save me, whether from illnesses, injuries, bullies or perps. You're always there Danny" replied Jamie as he patted Danny's back.

"Don't know why you have so much faith in me kid"

"Because you were always there when I was growing up, you and Joe and it never stopped even when I was a teenager or had left home"

"Well Joe must still be looking out for you kid"

"Just like you" smiled Jamie, leaning back so he could look Danny in the eye.

"Yeah just like me" seeing the red mark around Jamie's throat Danny pulled him up and said "let's get you checked out kid" Danny kept an arm around Jamie's shoulders as he led his younger brother out into the sunlight, happy with how the day turned out.

* * *

 

Jamie remained in the hospital overnight for observation and was discharged the next day with only hanging (from Renzulli's account) for what must have been about twenty seconds, Jamie was lucky Danny showed up when he did otherwise the day might have ended with a different outcome. The two brothers visited Joe's grave.

"Thanks Joe" said Jamie,

"Yeah thanks Joe I dunno what I would have done without golden boy here to tell me what I was doing wrong on my cases" added Danny smiling.

"Hey!" protested Jamie, their comfortably familiar banter continued as they left the graveyard.

Joe watched his brothers leave replying to them "your welcome, I will always look out for you two. What else are brothers for?"


	15. O is for Overdose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another chapter set when Jamie was a kid, I have set Jamie as 6, Joe as 10, Erin as 14 and Danny as 15. Enjoy! but please don't hound me about anything medical! I have researched this a little but there wasn't much to go on so I did the best I could!

Danny was sat at his desk when he cringed when he heard Jamie emit another harsh cough from his room, Danny felt sorry for the kid this was the third flu he had this year with a sore throat to top it off. His dad was at work and Erin and Joe were out with their friends, so Danny had opted to stay home with his mom to help look after Jamie under the pretence he had homework to do (not telling his mother he had already done it as he handed it in two days ago).

"Danny" whispered a small pained voice from his bedroom doorway,

Danny turned around and looked at Jamie, "you ok kid?"

Jamie shook his head, "my throat really hurts"

"Come on we'll ask mom if it's time for you to have some cough syrup" Danny held out his hand and Jamie grasped it and together they made their way downstairs to find Mary.

"Mom?"

"Yes Danny?" asked Mary as she looked up from the newspaper she was reading,

"Jamie was wondering if he could have some cough syrup"

Mary checked her watch and nodded; she rose from the chair and guided Jamie into the kitchen while Danny went to go back upstairs when he heard a crash from outside. He ran out to the front porch.

"Mom! Mrs Davison has crashed her car into her wall!" and then he bounded down the steps soon followed by Mary to check that their next door neighbour wasn't hurt.

Before Danny and Mary knew it an hour had passed since they had first gone to check on Mrs Davison and Danny went to check on Jamie remembering Jamie's sore throat.

"Jamie? Jamie!" called Danny, for some unknown reason Danny suddenly got an uneasy feeling that something was wrong. Jamie stumbled into the hallway holding his stomach and head.

"Danny I don't feel well" then before Danny could do or say anything Jamie's eyes rolled to the back of his head and Jamie collapsed to the floor and to Danny seemed to have a fit.

"MOM!" bellowed Danny as he rushed to Jamie's side. Mary rushed into the hall and her past training as a nurse had her kneel next to Jamie's head and cushion it, "Danny help me move Jamie away from the cabinet and wall we have to make sure he can't hurt himself". When Jamie was in the middle of the hall and Mary was cushioning his head she looked at her watch and after four minutes Jamie stilled and Mary immediately moved him so he was lying on his side.

"Mom?" Mary looked up to Danny's terrified face,

"He'll be ok Danny"

"But what happened?"

"I don't know… oh no! His cough syrup! Danny check the bottle!"

Danny didn't know why his mother wanted him to do that but he did it anyway. He grabbed the bottle and took it to Mary who was now speaking softly to Jamie.

Danny silently handed Mary the bottle and she gasped. "What's wrong mom?"

"This was a new bottle and half of its gone!"

"How?!" Demanded Danny,

"I drank some" murmured Jamie in a small voice,

"Jamie why?" asked Mary as she moved into Jamie's eye line,

"My throat really hurt mommy and you and Danny went outside for ages, and the bottle didn't have the cap on so I drank some"

"Some! You drank half of it!" cried Danny, Jamie flinched thinking Danny was angry at him, but Danny was really scared. Once Jamie had almost died from a serve fever and now the cough syrup that was supposed to help him could have killed him if he had drank anymore.

"Danny that's not helping! Come on help me get Jamie into the car so he can get checked out by a doctor". Slowly so not to hurt Jamie Danny carried him out to the car while Mary fetched the car keys and left a note for Erin and Joe telling them what had happened. Mary knew finding out that Jamie had almost died again in a note would not be easy for Erin and Joe but she knew that she couldn't make Danny stay behind to explain because he was basically glued to Jamie's side.

* * *

 

It was the next day and Danny was waiting anxiously by the front door leaning on the window sill. The doctors had kept Jamie at the hospital overnight as a precaution, but after Mary had explained that Jamie had taken too much cough syrup they felt the danger had passed and as long as Jamie never did it again he shouldn't suffer from any side effects or fits.

"Danny" said Joe as he leant on the window sill next to his older brother,

"Yeah Joe?"

"Jamie will be ok right?" asked Joe desperately.

"Of course he will! Mom and I told you what the doctor said"

"I was really scared Danny. I came home and found Erin looking upset and first I thought it was dad, then she sat me down and told me it was Jamie" Joe sucked in a breathe, "I'm supposed to look after him, but I got fed up listening to him coughing all the time so went out to play with my friends-"

"Joe you can't be blaming yourself!"

"But I promised that I would always look after Jamie and I didn't!"

"Joe-"

"And don't tell me it wasn't my fault because even you stayed home and I know you handed in the homework you were 'doing' so you did stay because Jamie was ill"

"Ok Joe let me ask you this. Should it be my fault Jamie had to go to the hospital because I went outside with mom?"

"No! It wasn't mom's or your fault, you didn't know that Jamie would drink the cough syrup"

"Exactly, so it's not your fault either" replied Danny in a matter of fact tone.

"Danny, you're not angry at Jamie are you?" asked Joe tentatively, knowing that mostly if Danny was worried he tended to make other's think he was angry, but sometimes Danny was just plain angry.

Danny sighed "no, but I was a little when I found he drank the cough syrup"

"But no one told Jamie he had to be careful!" insisted Joe defending his younger brother,

"No we didn't, but Jamie's always sensible to I guess we all figured he knew not to drink a lot of it"

"But he's six! How is he supposed to know?!"

Before Danny could reply Mary's car pulled up and Joe and Danny watched as she helped Jamie out of the car. They entered the house and Joe ran over to Jamie and hugged him tight, Jamie wrapped his arms around Joe. Mary then went to find Erin knowing Jamie would be fine with his brothers; Jamie then looked over at Danny who was still standing next to the window.

"Sorry Danny" said Jamie looking up at Danny, like Joe knowing it could be difficult to know if Danny's anger was really worry or if he was just angry.

"Just don't do it again" replied Danny gruffly, before walking past his brother's and going upstairs. He pretended not to hear Jamie's whimper and Joe's comforting words "he was just worried Jamie, he's not angry".

When Danny entered his room he realized that maybe he should have been gentler towards Jamie and was about to go back downstairs but didn't want to face Joe knowing that even if Jamie had forgiven him, Joe wouldn't have. So half an hour later Danny headed downstairs and heard Joe's voice and Jamie's coming from the kitchen, so poked his head around the door and saw Joe opening the medicine cabinet and taking out the box with all the medicine.

"Now Jamie everything in this box is stuff you can't eat or drink ok got that?" Asked Joe in a tone Jamie knew meant Joe wasn't kidding,

"Yes Joe" nodded Jamie seriously,

"And even the stuff that isn't in the box but is still in the cabinet is not to touch ok?"

"Ok! Everything in the box or the cabinet is not for touching, eating or drinking!" replied Jamie,

Joe smiled "that's right Jamie, right look in box you see these small cardboard boxes?" Jamie nodded "sometimes people accidentally leave them out on the table but you still can't touch them ok?" Again Jamie nodded so Joe put the box away and moved to the fridge and opened it. Danny watched confused as to what Joe was doing and then smiled when Joe pointed to their dad's beer.

"Right Jamie anything that looks like this is also off limits"

Danny smiled fondly and then entered the kitchen and pointed to the wine rack, "and this is also off limits"

Danny and Joe smiled at each other when Jamie got post-it notes and a pen and wrote 'NO JAMIE!' and stuck them to the items Danny and Joe had told him not to touch.


	16. P is for Poison

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by episode 1.23 of the 2010 TV series Hawaii Five – 0 (if any of you watch this show, let's see if you can guess what will happen).

Jamie and Renzulli pulled their squad car up outside an apartment building where an elderly woman had called 911 in a panic. Her neighbour had called her asking for help, but telling her not to enter the apartment.

They warily entered the building, back up already on its way; the woman had mentioned that her neighbour was a government scientist so everyone was on high alert. Renzulli knocked on the door of the woman while Jamie headed towards the scientist (Kevin Nelson)'s door.

"Hello Dr Nelson. Can you hear me?" called Jamie, hearing no reply he shared a look with Renzulli from down the hall and then kicked the door in. Almost immediately Jamie saw Dr Nelson collapsed on the floor. "Dr Nelson?" asked Jamie; after he walked over to Nelson he gasped. Nelson seemed to have foam around his mouth and his eyes were glazed over. Jamie knelt down and felt for a pulse, not finding one he radioed for the M.E.

"What is going on?!" cried a voice from the doorway.

Jamie snapped his head up to see a woman in her late twenties looking at him with shock written all over her face. "Is Dr Nelson ok?"

"I'm sorry" replied Jamie softly, "are you a relative?"

"No, I'm his assistant, Melanie Lewis. When he didn't arrive for work I came to check on him" Melanie edged closer and when she caught sight of Dr Nelson she gasped. "Get away from him!"

"Huh?" asked Jamie,

"Get out of the apartment now!" Melanie's tone left no room for argument and soon Jamie and Melanie were standing outside the apartment.

"What is going on?" demanded Jamie,

"I recognised the symptoms, it's from the toxin Sarin"

Jamie gasped and then immediately via his radio called for a Hazmat team; Renzulli heard this and was soon running down the hall.

"Reagan what's going on?!"

"This is Melanie Lewis and says Dr Nelson died from Sarin" replied Jamie, he then began to rub his chest, something was wrong. It was getting harder to breathe. He panicked at how quickly he began wheezing, his legs felt weak and for some reason found that Renzulli and Melanie were becoming taller. Jamie realized he must have slid to the floor leaning against the wall. Everything became a blur of confusion.

"Reagan!" Jamie blinked his eyes open to try and focus on Renzulli who was shaking his shoulders.

"Ca-can't b-b-breathe!" gasped Jamie,

"Ok Jamie take it nice and easy. Just take steady breathes"

Jamie nodded, but listening to Renzulli's calm and steady voice didn't help. The Hazmat team arrived and Melanie told them what was happening and Renzulli yelled "someone call a bus!"

Then a voice coming out of the stairwell called out "Tony who's the bus for?"

Renzulli groaned. Danny. Of course Danny had to be one of the responding Detectives as back up. Danny was about to come across his younger brother who was struggling to breathe.

"Tony-" Danny stopped and gasped. There in front of him was Jamie leant against the wall, pale, shivering and wheezing, with unfocused eyes staring out at the opposite wall. Danny shook himself and charged forward so he was knelt next to Renzulli.

"Sarge what's going on?!" asked Danny unsuccessfully hiding his worry.

Renzulli didn't know what to say, so went for the direct one word response. "Sarin"

"What?!"

Before Renzulli could reply Jamie seemed to realize who was next to Renzulli. "Dan-n-y?"

Danny moved more into Jamie's line of sight, "yeah I'm here kid"

Jamie locked eyes with Danny and Danny could see the hidden message in his younger brother's eyes. He was scared, he had no idea what was happening. Danny placed a comforting hand on Jamie's shoulder.

"Just stay with me kid" he demanded,

Jamie's mouth opened and closed but no sound came out, but Danny could read Jamie's lips, he was saying 'I'm trying'.

"I know kid" murmured Danny comfortingly.

The EMT's arrived much to Danny relief. He didn't know how much more he could take of seeing Jamie struggling to breathe. Melanie told them what toxin Jamie was suffering from and what drugs he needed to treat the Sarin and save his life. The EMT's placed a breathing mask on Jamie and gently placed him on a stretcher. Just as the stretcher was being put into the back of the ambulance Jamie's eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness.

"Sorry Detective there's no room for you to ride with us" commented one of the EMT's,

"You see that seat there?" stated Danny, pointing to the seat next to the stretcher, "well I'm sitting in that when you take _my younger brother_ to hospital" and then Danny pushed passed the EMT and sat in the seat and kept his eyes on Jamie. Praying that Jamie would be alright. He took Jamie's hand and held it with gentle pressure in a way of telling Jamie that he wasn't alone and that he couldn't leave the family down another Reagan brother.

* * *

 

The ambulance screeched to a stop and what was happening was all a blur for Danny. He watched as Jamie was wheeled away from him and beyond a set of swinging doors that took Jamie to a room where the medical staff could save his life. But take Jamie away from Danny's sight, something he wasn't completely happy with.

* * *

 

Twenty minutes later found Danny pacing the waiting room waiting for news on Jamie's condition when a Doctor he recognised from seeing as she helped wheel Jamie into an examining room. As the Doctor approached Danny cut in before she said anything not wanting to hear the words 'I'm sorry but we did everything we could'.

"How is my brother?" asked Danny wringing his hands out of nervous energy.

"He's stable, the short time that it took for the symptoms to be recognised and the short time it took to get Jamie here and treat him knowing the toxin he had been exposed to helped greatly"

"So he's gonna be ok?" checked Danny,

"Yes, I'll keep him here for two days as a precaution but after that there should be no lasting damage and in two weeks he should be back on duty" smiled the Doctor "normally you'd have to wait for visiting hours which start in an hour, but considering the circumstances you go on right ahead to room 562 and tell the nurses Dr Kelly sent you" continued Dr Kelly,

"Thank you Dr Kelly" replied Danny releasing the breath he had been holding.

"No problem. Now go see your brother, he's sleeping but you can still sit with him"

Danny nodded and made his way to Jamie's room and passed on Dr Kelly's message to the nurses and then seated himself next to Jamie's bed and kept his eyes on a sleeping Jamie as a way of reassuring himself Jamie was still alive.

Danny wasn't sure how much time had passed but Jamie started to stir. Danny leaned over the bed more as Jamie blinked his eyes open and focused on Danny.

Danny sighed in relief "I'm so glad you're ok kid, I really am"

"I'm sorry Danny" rasped Jamie, his voice hoarse from lack of use.

"What for?" asked a bewildered Danny,

"I really thought this time I'd make you lose another brother and I don't want you to go through that again" whispered Jamie,

"Jamie" choked Danny, trying with all his might to hide the overwhelming rush of emotion he was feeling. Even faced with more or less suffocating to death Jamie had still been worried about Danny losing another brother. To Danny that only proved what he already knew about his brother, that Jamie was the type of person to think of others before himself even in extreme circumstances.

Jamie cleared his throat and asked "so when are they letting me out of here?"

"They'll let you out in two days and in two weeks you can be back on duty" replied Danny,

"Huh, doesn't sound that bad for what happened"

Danny just hummed in agreement not yet ready to address the situation fully. "Anyway dad and Grandpa want you at their house when you're discharged and there is no arguing with them I'm afraid kid"

Jamie just sighed resigned to the fact he was going to be smothered by the rest of the family.

* * *

 

Four days later Jamie was near breaking point, he had guessed right in the fact that the rest of the family would smother him (his dad had even taken to doing his work from home). Even if it was for good reasons, but it still frustrated him as they wouldn't let him do anything. Jamie stood up from the living room couch and headed over to the bookcase to choose a book to read as it would take him to a place where he could escape his frustration. Or so he thought.

"Jamie what are you doing?!" demanded Frank as he walked into the living room,

Jamie spun around to face his dad, "I'm getting a book to read"

"Well sit down and I can get one for you!" urged Frank as he moved closer to Jamie to move him back to the couch.

This was the last straw for Jamie he narrowed his eyes and sharply replied "I think I can get a book for myself dad"

"I know but while you recover I think I should get it for you" Frank said calmly seemingly unfazed by Jamie's outburst.

"Dad it's not that bad! I'm not going to have any permanent damage and I can be back on duty in just under two weeks!"

"About that, I think you should take some more time off"

"What?!"

"Just so we all know you are fully recovered"

"I'll be fine!"

"Jamie, just to be on the safe side I think you should take more time"

Jamie crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes "is this you talking as my dad or the Commissioner?"

"That's irrelevant"

"No. Dad. It's not. You see if it was a different Commissioner they wouldn't stop me from getting back on duty when the Doctor said I could!"

"Jamie I'm just thinking of your health!"

"No dad, my health is fine and in just under two weeks I _will_ be back on duty" and then Jamie turned and marched out the living room and out the front door ignoring his dad calling after him. He had just had enough, all the times he had been hurt or injured his family's hovering and mother henning he had been able to take but now he had had enough of it and he was going home.

* * *

 

An hour later Jamie was sat at home when someone began banging on his front door.

"Jamie open the door!" yelled Danny, Jamie made no move towards the door.

"Jamie I know you're in there so open up!"

Jamie sighed and then stood up and walked over to the door and opened it, "what do you want Danny?"

"To find out what happened between you and dad" said Danny pushing past Jamie and entering the apartment,

"Do please come in" muttered Jamie gesturing to an imaged figure at his door, then shut the door turning to face Danny.

"Now what happened?" demanded Danny,

"Dad was saying I should take more time off despite the Doctor saying I would be fine"

"So that justifies yelling at dad and then storming out?!"

"Well I've had enough Danny! I know you all care but it feels like your smothering me every time anything happens to me and I've had enough of you all fussing and trying to tell me what to do when between the Doctors and I we now how much I can cope with!"

"But storming out! Something could have happened to you!" yelled Danny,

"Did you listen to anything I just said?! I can take care of myself Danny I'm not a little kid anymore who needs someone holding their hand every time something happens!" shouted Jamie, his eyes flashing with anger. Out of everyone he thought Danny would understand how he felt about the fussing, maybe he was wrong.

"It's only because we care Jamie" said Danny quieter,

"And I said I know that! But to the extent you all go to make sure I don't do anything is ridiculous!" exclaimed Jamie, still burning with frustration.

"Ok kid" sighed Danny, "I'll talk to everyone and get them to back off and I'll tell dad if the Doc says you'll be fine for duty then you can go back to work"

"Thank you" replied Jamie,

Danny moved to the front door and realized Jamie wasn't following, "you coming back kid?"

"No, I can look after myself and I just want some peace and quiet" replied Jamie sternly, Danny opened his mouth to object but seeing the look on Jamie's face nodded silently and muttered "see you later kid" and then left.

Jamie sighed and sank back onto his couch, the arguments with his dad and Danny really took a lot of energy but he knew he was in no danger and so turned the T.V on and revlelled in the fact that no one would be trying to stop him doing anything at all.


	17. Q is for Qunisy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter set when Jamie was younger, Jamie is 4, Joe is 9, Erin is 13 and Danny is 14.

The family were having Sunday dinner and while the majority of the family had finished Jamie was still only about a quarter way through his dinner.

"Sweetheart aren't you hungry?" asked Mary as she leaned closer to her youngest,

Jamie shook his head saying weakly "I don't feel right mommy"

"What do you mean by 'right' son?" asked Frank, his wife's comment gaining his attention. Jamie squirmed in his chair when everyone turned to look at him.

"I dunno, my throat is sore and it really hurts when I swallow. Mommy am I sick again?" Asked Jamie worriedly, he hated it when he was sick he always felt terrible and what made it worse was that the rest of the family got sad when he was sick. They tried to hide it but Jamie always noticed, and he hated making his family sad.

Joe worriedly looked between his parents and Jamie, then rested his wide eyes on Jamie. He was Jamie's older brother and last year when Jamie was sick he had promised his sleeping brother that he would make sure he never got sick again and he had broken the promise!

Mary rested a hand on Jamie's forehead and sighed "you've got a temperature sweetie so I'm sorry to say but you are sick"

Jamie slumped in his chair and mumbled loud enough for everyone else to hear "I don't like being sick!"

"I know honey but I'm afraid people don't get a choice if their sick" comforted Mary hugging Jamie,

"Well that's crap!" muttered Jamie, everyone at the table was shocked into silence until Frank turned to Danny and said,

"I don't think I need to ask where he heard that from"

Danny looked sheepish and then looking at his mother and grandmother he defended himself by saying "well it's not the worst thing he could have heard. I mean he could have said f-"

"Yes Daniel you don't need to add to that" Grandma Rose added sternly,

"What was Danny going to say?" piped up Jamie, when everyone hesitated Jamie continued "what was Danny gonna say?!"

"Er… he was gonna say… fat" said Joe,

"That's it? Fat is a bad word? Hehe I'm gonna tell Harry Carter that at school tomorrow!" giggled Jamie, unknowingly causing his family to silently groan knowing Jamie was going to be obsessed with that word for a while thinking it was a 'grown up word' he wasn't really allowed to say.

"I'm sorry Jamie but I don't think you'll be going to school tomorrow" commented Mary gently as she peered in Jamie's mouth,

"Why?" asked Jamie disappointedly,

"Because I think you've got Quinsy" replied Mary,

"What is that?!" asked Joe his eyes flickering from his mother to Jamie.

"It's a type of tonsillitis"

"I swear the kid gets sick every six months" grouched Danny,

"Well I didn't ask to get sick!" Jamie protested,

"I never said you did!" complained Danny,

"Well it sounded like it!" moaned Jamie,

"Oh stop your whining!"

"Stop being annoying!"

"Stop talking!"

"Stop breathing!"

"Stop existing! You're so annoying with getting sick all the time!" grumbled Danny, he didn't mean to sound harsh but he was worried about Jamie as he got sick so often, five seconds later he realized what he said sounded like and was about to apologize when Jamie scrapped back his chair and ran upstairs.

"Well that's another nice family Sunday dinner gone to hell" griped Henry, at Rose's glare Henry stuttered to amend his comment "I…I…I mean _ruined_ " ordinarily the kids would have been sniggering behind their hands but fortunately for Henry their focus was on the rushing footsteps going up the stairs and the slamming of a bedroom door. Danny silently stood up and made his way to Jamie's bedroom.

Knocking on the door he said "Jamie it's me kid, look I'm so sorry I didn't mean it" there was no answer so Danny tried opening the door to find Jamie had blocked it, "come on Jamie open the door!"

"Go away Danny! You basically said you don't want me as your brother!" called a muffled voice from inside the room,

"Jamie I'm sorry I didn't mean it!"

"Just go away Danny!"

Danny sighed and made his way into his own room.

* * *

 

The next day when Danny, Erin and Joe got home from school they discovered that Jamie had gotten worse and that Mary was going to take Jamie to the Doctor's, Joe hadn't taken this news well and had run up to his room. Half an hour later Joe walked into Danny's room looking upset, Danny who was lying on his bed got up and crouched in front of Joe.

"What's the matter Joe?"

"I promised last year when Jamie had the flu that I was going to make sure he never got sick again and I've broken the promise!"

"Hey Joe it's not your fault, it's like what mom said people don't have a choice it just happens" comforted Danny,

"But I'm Jamie's older brother and I have to make sure nothing happens to him! It's my fault!"

"Joe" whimpered a croaky voice from the doorway, Danny and Joe turned to see Jamie standing in the doorway rubbing his throat and looking at his brother's with a sad look. "Please don't blame yourself Joe, I hate it when I'm sick mostly because everyone else gets sad and I don't like causing everyone else to be sad" croaked Jamie, Joe and Danny could hear he was losing his voice.

"Oh Jamie!" exclaimed Joe as he rushed over to Jamie and hugged him tight, Joe rested his head on top of Jamie's and said "I'm sorry Jamie. Ow!" Jamie had lightly punched Joe and sternly looked up at his brother, "ok! No more saying I'm sorry or being sad" replied Joe earning a small smile from Jamie.

Danny smiled and went over to his brothers and still on his knees he wrapped his arms around them and murmured "don't worry little brothers I'll always be here for you guys to come to"

A cough at the door stopped the group hug and the boys looked up to see their mother smiling at them, "I have to take Jamie to the Doctor's now"

"Mommy what's going to happen?" asked Jamie, he had begun to dislike going to see the Doctor.

"He'll just give you an injection to help you feel better" replied Mary bending down to her son's height.

"No!" wailed Jamie, but it came out more like a squeak with his loss of voice, "I don't like injections I'll be fine without it!"

"I'm sorry sweetheart but you won't, you'll only feel worse" comforted Mary as she rubbed Jamie's arms, she knew Jamie didn't like the Doctor's after having injections and blood tests before which hurt him, Mary hated it when her children hurt especially when they had to go through pain to feel better.

Jamie's bottom lip trembled and his eyes began to fill with tears, but he tried not to cry he didn't want to seem weak in front of his brothers. Joe and Danny wrapped their arms around Jamie.

"Don't worry kid it'll all be over in a second" comforted Danny, he hadn't been with his parents when they had taken Jamie to the Doctor's before but had heard his mother say Jamie hated it.

"We'll be right next to you ok" said Joe looking directly at his mother daring her to say he and Danny couldn't go.

But before Mary could say anything Jamie croaked,"really?"

Joe looked expectantly at Mary and then she smiled and said "of course they will honey as their good older brothers"

"Good? They're the best!" corrected Jamie hoarsely beaming at Danny and Joe who were smiling in return.

* * *

 

An hour later they were sat in a room with a Doctor explaining "I'm just going to inject some phenoxymethylpenicillin" at the family's blank looks he added "it's also called penicillin V, and the reason why I am injecting it is because it'll work faster and is more effective so Jamie will be running around in no time". The Doctor looked slightly confused when it wasn't Jamie who was pleased at the sound of getting better soon, but Jamie's brothers.

"Well that's good" commented Danny,

"Yeah it's weird when Jamie is quiet instead of running around the house and bumping into walls" added Joe,

"I don't!" objected Jamie still in a croaky voice,

"You do, maybe you don't remember because of hitting your head" smirked Danny, Jamie just stuck out his tongue in reply and Danny did the same in the hopes of distracting Jamie. But when the Doctor moved forward a step Jamie whimpered and huddled into his brothers' hold.

"It's ok Jamie" assured Danny as he moved from beside Jamie to stand directly in front of him and continued "now look directly at me Jamie and tell me what did you do today as you haven't told me and Joe what you've done all day" as Danny said this Joe wrapped his arms tightly, but gently, around Jamie waist so the Doctor could get to Jamie's left arm. Mary, sat across the room and looked on with pride at Danny and Joe, she had gone to sit next to Jamie but Danny and Joe had beaten her to it.

"Well grandma came over and gave me some ice cream" started Jamie,

"Ooh! What flavour Jamie?" asked Joe, squeezing Jamie's side as the Doctor stood on Jamie's left.

"Chocolate, silly question Joe!" giggled Jamie,

"Yeah Joe! You know Jamie always has the chocolate!" smiled Danny, his eyes not leaving Jamie's so Jamie could ignore the Doctor. Jamie felt a prick in his left arm and whimpered and went to look to his left but Danny got his attention "ah! Jamie keep looking at me, so what happened after you had ice cream?"

"Er…"

"Come on Jamie what else?" asked Joe squeezing Jamie comfortingly,

"Grandpa came over and he did some colouring with me" smiled Jamie,

"What did you draw?" asked Danny, he noticed the Doctor had finished but he didn't want Jamie to just yet,

"Some circus animals and Grandpa said one day he'd take me to one" smiled Jamie,

"There all done" smile the Doctor, he had treated Jamie before and noticed how much calmer he was when his brothers were there and was glad that Jamie had such caring older brothers especially with the ten year age difference between Jamie and Danny.

"Really?" asked Jamie looking at his family and the Doctor in surprise.

"Yes sweetheart on the way home would you like some ice cream?" asked Mary,

"Only if Danny and Joe can to, oh and you to mommy" said Jamie,

"Ok then come on" smiled Mary as she led the way out of the room.

"What flavour will you have Joe and Danny?" asked Jamie looking up at his brothers who were each holding one of his hands,

"Hmmm…strawberry" answered Joe,

"I think I'll have vanilla. What about you Jamie?" said Danny looking down at Jamie,

Jamie raised his eyebrows at Danny and replied "we've just been through this!"

Joe and Danny burst out laughing and Danny said "I know kid I'm just joking"

"Geez if he's like this now imagine what he'll be like when he's a teenager" smiled Joe looking at Jamie and Danny,

"Do not go there Joe!" replied Danny fake shivering in the horror of the thought.

"At least I won't be as bad as Erin, she's _really_ changed!" commented Jamie as they walked through the doors that took them out onto the street,

Danny laughed as he bent down and then placed Jamie on his shoulders, "right you are little brother. Right you are"


	18. R is for Rememberance

"Danny I have been on the force for three years now! So you can stop treating me like some rookie fresh out of the Academy!" stressed Jamie, it was taking all he had not to shove Danny to the floor for good measure.

"Maybe I'm treating you the way I am because I can see you're doing it wrong" replied Danny, the dark clouds above seemed to reflect the situation between the two brothers.

Jamie chuckled sarcastically, "doing it wrong? Really? Ever thought I'm trying to follow the book and you're the one doing it wrong?"

"Say that again" spat Danny, "because I can't believe some _rookie_ just said I'm the one doing it wrong"

"You heard me" said Jamie; he wasn't even trying to hide his frustration now. Jamie had just finished a shift and Danny as it happened was going to be at the 12th so was waiting to give Jamie a lift home. Danny then heard Jamie and some of his friends talking about a raid they helped on as they walked towards their cars, thankfully for Jamie Danny didn't comment on anything until he was walking over to the car so his friends weren't in earshot.

Jamie got in the car to stop himself from hitting Danny. Danny angrily got in the car, but didn't start it.

"At least Joe listened to my advice-"

"And look what happened there! Remember last year I told you how he would call me and tell about what was happening between you two? You were pushing him away Danny!"

"What would you know? You were up in Boston not knowing what was going on, whereas I was here" snapped Danny, as he started the car and pulled away from the sidewalk.

Danny was too riled up to notice Jamie's angry look had given way to a hurt look. Danny in his anger had no idea he had hit a raw nerve for Jamie, he didn't know for the past four years Jamie had been feeling guilty, guilty for not seeing Joe much before he died.

"Well lucky you" replied Jamie in a defeated voice as he looked out the window.

"Given up the fight you were right? Figures. You always needed Joe or I to stand up for you"

"Don't you mean Joe? As I recall you never stood up for me, you were always one of the ones to pick on me" snapped Jamie,

Danny stopped the car outside a grocery store, (Linda has asked him to get some milk) "what is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said"

"You're pushing your luck kid" growled Danny,

"And what is that supposed to mean? You can't ground me Danny" scoffed Jamie.

Danny leaned over towards Jamie pointing his finger, "watch your mouth kid, what I was trying to say earlier is that while on the job you tend to think more like a lawyer than a cop" Danny sat upright in his seat and missed the flinch Jamie made at the comment, and Danny continued softly "maybe you should have stayed a lawyer, it would have been safer for you"

Jamie's head snapped around to face Danny. "Yeah? Well maybe you should have stayed in construction, you're not the only one who lost a brother" Jamie then got out the car slamming the door.

Danny also hurriedly got out of the car and called out to Jamie "where you going?!"

"I'm walking home!" shouted Jamie as he crossed the street. To people walking past they could only hear anger in Jamie's voice, but Danny knowing his brother could hear the hurt in Jamie's voice. Again the clouds reflected the brother's situation because as Jamie walked away a downpour of rain began. Danny dashed into the store, and five minutes later got back into his car.

He looked to the passenger side and saw Jamie had left his stuff in the car. Danny looked outside and saw the downpour had gotten heavier, Danny remembered how sick Jamie used to get when they were younger. He started the car and drove to Jamie's apartment building.

He waited ten minutes, by this time Jamie should have appeared. So Danny dug out his cell phone and called Jamie. But to his horror he heard Jamie's cell phone ringing from inside the car. He put his phone away pulled on his coat and got out the car desperately looking for any sign of Jamie, but there wasn't one. Danny had no idea where Jamie was, and with the downpour not letting up Danny was worried Jamie was going to get very sick.

As Jamie walked away and the rain began he realised he had left his coat in Danny's car, he almost went back to get it but determinedly carried on walking. He knew he was being childish but he didn't care, there was no way he was going to go back and speak to Danny right now. He was two blocks away when the downpour got heavier, Jamie sighed today wasn't his day at all.

Jamie was lost in his thoughts then when he almost tripped over he realised he was nowhere near his apartment building. He looked around and saw he was standing in front of Joe's grave. By now he was soaked, his hair was so wet the rain just dripped off him in waves, he knew he should go home but he couldn't, instead he sank to the floor next to Joe's headstone and rested his hand on it.

"Joe what can I do to show Danny I'm as good a cop as he is? I just seem to spend most of my time showing, not just Danny, but the whole family I'm a good cop. And yes sometimes my lawyer brain takes over for a second but really sometimes isn't that a good thing? I would have thought that it meant I would know how to make sure when I arrested someone they wouldn't walk on a technicality. But try telling that to the rest of the family, actually no. Try telling that to grandpa, Danny, Erin and on the occasion dad and Linda. The boys and Nikki are the only ones who don't say anything, well the boys might not understand everything yet, but Nikki does and she seems to understand where I'm coming from. Danny, grandpa and dad tell me that I think too much like a lawyer and Erin tells me I think too much like a cop during conversations at Sunday dinner. Linda tries to stay out of it but I can see she agrees with dad. What can I do?" asked Jamie wearily, "you're the only one who understood me Joe, Danny and I are trying to get closer, but as today shows we're not there yet. But to hear him tell me I should have stayed a lawyer? I always wanted to be a cop; I thought he knew, like you did. Guess I was wrong"

* * *

 

Danny drove around the different routes Jamie could have taken home, because he now had time to reflect on what was said he hit the steering wheel after he realised what he had said. "You stupid, stupid" was all Danny kept muttering. It had been forty minutes since Jamie walked off and to say Danny was worried was an understatement, he kept picturing Jamie as a toddler with such a bad fever he almost died.

Danny then suddenly had a thought, when they were growing up if Jamie and Danny had a fight Jamie would always go to Joe. So even though Joe was dead why should it be any different? Danny then turned the car around and drove to the cemetery.

Five minutes later Danny pulled up at the cemetery gates, he zipped up his coat and folded Jamie's up so the inside wouldn't get wet, although it would probably get wet as soon as Danny put the coat around Jamie. Before getting out of the car Danny found two blankets on the backseat and got them ready for Jamie. He then got out of the car and ran over to Joe's grave.

When Danny reached the grave he gasped in shock. There was Jamie but he looked ghostly pale and water was dripping down his face and he had his eyes closed and was slumped against the headstone.

"Jamie?" called Danny,

Jamie opened his eyes and looked up at Danny, who was now crouched in front of him.

"Danny what are you doing here?" murmured Jamie,

"I came looking for you because I was worried that you would get sick from being out in the rain. Come on I'm taking you home" and Danny wrapped Jamie in his coat, helped him to stand and led him back to the car. Once they were both in the car Danny put the heat all the way up and pointed the vents at Jamie in the hopes that Jamie wouldn't get sick.

The car journey to Jamie's apartment was done in silence and nothing was said until they walked into Jamie's apartment and Danny ordered Jamie to get in the shower.

While Jamie was in the bathroom Danny peeled off his wet coat and using a towel dried his hair. He looked around and spotted a photo of him and Jamie, he guessed that the Jamie in the photo was around 4 years old which would have made him 14. Danny thought about how easy life was back then, that the only troubles were homework and keeping an eye on Jamie who seemed to get into lots of mischief. But there were the times when the rift between Danny and Jamie was all too clear, Danny remembered the time Jamie at aged 11 demanded to be able to go to the park by himself.

" _But mom I'm 11 now! And my other friends are allowed to go to the park by themselves!" insisted Jamie pleadingly looking up at Mary,_

" _Your friends only go when one of their older siblings go with them. So do you want Danny, Erin or Joe to go with you?" asked Mary._

" _No! Because Danny will mock me the whole time and then get bored and want to come home so I would have to. Erin wouldn't want to come at all and Joe might say yes but then forget and go and hang out with his friends or say no to begin with!"_

" _Well then you can only go to the park with myself, your dad, grandma or grandpa"_

" _That's not fair!" complained Jamie,_

" _Well life isn't fair" replied Mary sternly,_

_Jamie sighed and then turned to go upstairs to his room, and pushed past his siblings who were hiding on the stairs so they wouldn't face their mother's wrath, Danny and Erin included despite now both having moved out at the ages of 21 and 20._

" _Awe is little Jamie upset he can't go to the park like a big boy" cooed Danny mockingly as Jamie went past,_

" _Shut up Danny!" snapped Jamie glaring at a sniggering Erin, and ignoring Joe who was just sat there watching. Jamie and Joe were still close, but with Joe now being 16 he was trying to keep up his good grades and hanging out with his friends in his spare time which meant he had either forgotten to hang out with Jamie or just said no to Jamie. So they had slightly drifted apart._

" _Alright keep your hair on Jamie!" smirked Danny to the retreating Jamie, "no need to act childish about it"_

_Jamie stopped suddenly at the top of the stairs and spun around to fix his siblings with a piercing glare. "Well it's alright for you three you don't have kids at school picking on you about having to have either your parents or grandparents go with you to the park. I wish I had siblings like my friends because at least they have older siblings they can count on!" Jamie stayed at the top of the stairs to continue glaring at his siblings to get his point across and felt satisfaction at their wide eyed looks._

_Danny was the first to find his voice "what do you mean pick on you? Who does that?" demanded Danny,_

_Jamie scoffed "like I would bother telling you, I'd just waste my breath because_ _none_ _of you would do anything" and then Jamie stormed into his room slamming the door and blocking it with a chair for good measure._

_Joe turned to Danny and said "have we really not noticed Jamie getting picked on?"_

" _I guess so" replied Danny,_

" _I suppose we've all been focused on ourselves that we just left Jamie on the side-lines" added Erin looking ashamed._

_Erin then stood up and knocked on Jamie's door and said softly "Jamie we're really sorry could you please open the door?"_

" _No! I'm sure you've all got better things to do than hang out with me!" came the angry voice from within the room._

_Erin, Joe and Danny had then all made their way downstairs and spoke to their grandpa about what they could do._

" _I was wondering when this would start" Henry sadly said to his three oldest grandchildren._

" _What do you mean grandpa?" asked Joe,_

" _Well you three are all quite close in age so it's easy for you all to hang out, but Jamie is still a kid and into kid's stuff, the stuff you three have grown out of" Henry commented,_

" _When will it get better grandpa?" asked Joe, desperate to make it up to Jamie and know when it would be easy for him and Jamie to hang out again._

" _Well Joe that depends really. You see as there is only five years between you and Jamie I reckon you two will probably be hanging out again when Jamie reaches 14 maybe 15. But because there is nine years between Jamie and Erin and ten years between Jamie and Danny it may take until Jamie is 17 or 18 to be hanging out with them again"_

_Danny looked sadly at grandpa, he hadn't realized that the age difference between him and Jamie could cause so many problems; it hadn't mattered when they were younger now it seemed to affect them every day._

Danny recalled Jamie's friend Sam and Sam's older brother calling to see if Jamie would like to go to the park with them, which Jamie had done. Danny, Erin and Joe had actually followed to see Jamie laughing mucking around on the ground with Sam and getting a piggyback ride from Sam's brother making Danny, Erin and Joe feel guiltier because they felt they should have been doing that with Jamie. The following week all three of them had offered to go to the park with Jamie but he had turned them down sayin he was going with Sam again. It had turned out Henry was right, it wasn't until Jamie was 14 that he and Joe's close relationship had resumed and when Jamie was 17 he and Erin grew closer but for some reason Jamie had never regained the close relationship he once had with Danny. Danny knew this was partly down to the fact that for some reason he couldn't stop picking fights with Jamie.

Danny's thoughts were interrupted by Jamie's exit from the bathroom.

"You ok kid?" asked Danny,

"Yeah" replied Jamie,

Danny sighed, "I'm sorry kid for everything"

"Huh? What do you mean everything?"

"What I said in the car today and for the way I acted towards you after you turned 10. I know I couldn't have been the easiest person to live with"

"It's ok Danny" comforted Jamie; Danny didn't know how to feel seeing genuine forgiveness in Jamie's eyes.

"No it's not! We used to be close and I went and ruined it" complained Danny,

"Danny-"

"No listen to me kid, I promise from now on I'm gonna make sure that I finally build that bridge Linda was telling me to last year"

"Bridge?" asked Jamie confused,

"Ignore that, what I mean is I'm gonna make sure that I'm gonna be a better big brother to you than I have for the past seventeen years"

"Thanks Danny" smiled Jamie,

"No problem little brother"


	19. S is for Stabbed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can probably guess Jamie will be ending up in the hospital again and just to say I know that the whole Reagan family would be there but for the purpose of this chapter I have left them out to instead focus on Danny and Renzulli as I didn't want to get side tracked with writing the whole families reactions and feelings. So sorry if this bothers anyone but personally I wanted to focus on Jamie's and Danny's brotherly relationship and both their friendships with Renzulli.

"Ok take it easy, you can still walk away from this" cautioned Jamie, looking straight at the man who was waving a knife around. Jamie and Renzulli had split up looking for the man who had robbed a grocery store, and when Jamie had attempted to radio Renzulli the man had widely waved his arm, and the knife, dangerously close to Jamie. Jamie could see that the man was distressed, so he subtly put his hand in his pocket to reach his cell phone and called Renzulli.

* * *

 

Renzulli was standing by the squad car waiting for Jamie to come back or to radio for assistance. He turned at hearing a voice call his name.

"Hey Sarge"

"Hi Danny, what you doing here?" asked Renzulli turning to face Danny,

"I was in the area and thought I'd take the statement of the shop owner who was robbed. I'm guessing you and Jamie went after the guy?" Danny stated leaning against the squad car like Renzulli.

"Yeah, we split up so I'm just waiting for the kid to get here or radio" replied Renzulli checking his watch. Danny nodded and looked over at Renzulli when Renzulli's cell phone began to ring.

"What the?! Why is he calling me when he can radio me?" wondered Renzulli. Danny shrugged not overly worried as Jamie was known to do the odd thing occasionally. That was until Renzulli frowned listening to whatever was on the other end of the call and put his cell phone on speaker.

Then Danny heard Jamie say, "Look just calm down. You let me radio my partner and we can sort this whole mess out"

"No! If you had just left me alone we wouldn't be in this mess!" yelled a voice,

"Look for starters just put the knife down!" ordered Jamie. At the mention of a knife Renzulli was walking briskly in the direction Jamie had gone with Danny right on his heels. Danny and Renzulli were silent as they listened to the confrontation.

"Stand still!" ordered Jamie,

"Get out of my way!" screeched the unknown voice, they heard a scuffle and then the phone line went dead. This pushed Renzulli and Danny on faster knowing something could now be very wrong.

They rounded the corner to an alley and saw Jamie cuffing the man the voice belonged to and kicking the knife out of reach. Renzulli quickly went over to the robber and hoisted him to his feet not gentle in the least. Danny looked over at Jamie who was stood to the side as Renzulli took control.

"You ok kid?" asked Danny, Jamie then turned unfocused eyes on Danny, "Jamie?"

Jamie's left hand dropped from his right side revealing his left hand to be covered in red. Blood. Jamie's blood. Jamie's knees then gave out and he crashed to the cold, hard ground of the alley.

"Jamie!" yelled Danny; he surged forward and managed to cushion Jamie's head before it connected with the concrete ground. "Jamie what happened?!"

"Perp…run…stopped him…fight…knife…not…fast enough…hit him…cuffed…you…get here…" gasped Jamie, Danny was quickly able to piece together what Jamie had said and called a bus yelling at the operator the address and that it was an injured Police Officer.

Hearing Danny's yelling Renzulli sprinted over and helped Danny get Jamie's vest off and checked the stab wound. Unfortunately for Jamie the wound was just below his vest, two centimetres higher and Jamie would have gotten away with some bruising, but luck was not on Jamie's side that night.

Jamie's eyes began to slide shut and Danny gently slapped Jamie's cheek ordering "come on Jamie stay with me!"

"Tryin'" slurred Jamie, but his eyes still flickered shut.

"Jamie! I can't lose you! You _have_ to stay awake!" begged Danny.

At that moment the EMT's arrived and pried Danny away from Jamie. Danny stood beside them with wide eyes staring at Jamie praying that his brother would live as he would have no idea what he would do if Jamie died.

"He's going into shock! We need to get him to St. Victor's now!" ordered an EMT,

Danny's eyes began to water in despair at the news of Jamie going into shock, "come on Jamie you have to fight. You have to _live_!" cried Danny. He wanted to follow Jamie on the stretcher but his feet refused to move, Renzulli walked over and looked directly in Danny's eyes.

"Danny you hurt?" asked Renzulli, he knew asking if Danny was ok was a stupid question so went for asking if Danny was hurt because of the blood on his hands and shirt. Danny shook his head, and then seemed to shake himself and moved towards the end of the alley to find the ambulance already speeding away from him to the hospital. Taking Jamie away from him.

"Come on Danny I'll take you there" said Renzulli, and he guided the silent and shocked Danny to the squad car.

As Danny sat in the passenger seat he found he was griping Jamie's uniform hat, he realized it must have fallen off Jamie's head when he fell to the floor and without knowing it Danny had picked it up. The ride to the hospital was done in silence, Renzulli was trying to block out the images of Jamie lying on the floor bleeding and trying not to think about Jamie dying. Danny's eyes were fixed on Jamie's hat and he almost let his tears fall when thinking that he was sat in the very same seat Jamie was in not very long ago. Danny felt stupid to be nearly crying over the thought of sitting in Jamie's seat and holding Jamie's hat, but nonetheless those thoughts almost brought his eyes to overflow with his tears.

The squad car screeched to a halt outside the hospital and both Renzulli and Danny rushed to reception. Danny was still unable to say anything in the fear that he would become a sobbing mess. Renzulli knowing this spoke for him and learned that Jamie was in surgery and it was expected that he would be there for two to three hours. Hearing this Danny had silently exited the hospital and made his way back to the squad car. He then opened the door and again sat in the passenger seat. And stared blankly ahead. Renzulli watched from the entrance to the hospital and when he saw where Danny had gone he had turned around to go to the waiting room to wait for news on Jamie that he could tell Danny.

Back in the squad car Danny spotted Jamie's hat which he had dropped in his haste to get inside the hospital, he bent down and picked the hat up again. While he did this he spotted what he presumed to be a photograph someone had dropped, so he picked this up as well. He turned the photo over and had to hold back his tears again because he looked down and came face to face with a photo of him and Joe who were either side of Jamie with their arms over each other's shoulders. He and Joe were grinning as they squashed Jamie who was trying his best to still keep smiling and not hit his older brothers.

Danny ran his fingers over Joe's and Jamie's smiling faces, his voice shook as he said "Joe you gotta pull what stings you can up there and make sure Jamie lives. I've already lost you and I can't lose Jamie too, Joe I can't. I was right there Joe! Right. There. I know Jamie and I were never as close as you and Jamie were, but he was the youngest who had to be protected the most. He was the glue that kept the family together after mom and you died, we can't lose him Joe we just can't! I know that I always wanted him to be a cop with us and that I was a little disappointed when he went off to Harvard, but watching him graduate Harvard I was so proud of him just like you. But then when I got that phone call about you. I couldn't be happier Jamie had decided to follow Erin in being a lawyer. Then he tells us he's been accepted into the Academy" Danny took a shaky breath "I wanted to tell him he was making a mistake, but seeing his eyes light up in a way they hadn't since you died I found I couldn't tell him that. He's turned into such a great cop Joe and dare I say it, an even better cop than us. I know I always taunt him calling him the 'Golden Boy' but if I could take all the bad things I have said to him I would, I'll even tell Jamie all this and how I feel, something you said I would never do if it would mean he doesn't die. Please Joe help me keep our baby brother safe and alive. He can't d-d-die…" and griping onto Jamie's hat and photo Danny finally broke down and leant forward and placed his head in his now empty hands as he sobbed and pleaded for Jamie to live.

In the waiting room Renzulli stared blankly at the wall in front of him. Worst case scenarios swimming around his thoughts. He remembered his shock in being told he would be the Training Officer of the Commissioner's youngest son, he remembered training Joe and thinking he was one of the best cops he had ever trained. But after being partnered up with Jamie for a week he could tell that Jamie would be a cop that could rival both his brothers, and maybe even his father. Renzulli had thought the kid had only joined the NYPD to either, get revenge for his brother, or to try and make it easier on the family. But Renzulli had been proven wrong when one night at a bar Jamie had told him that his whole life he had wanted to be a cop, but seeing how his mother worried over his father and brothers and even one night overhearing his mother say how she hoped Jamie wouldn't join the NYPD he had decided to abandon his dream of being a cop and instead chose a career that was similar but for him still worlds apart. Jamie had even said a week before Joe died he and Joe were having one of their weekly phone calls and Joe had commented that Jamie didn't sound entirely happy when he talked about school and how he seemed mostly interested in what Joe was doing as a Detective. That was when Jamie had admitted how he really felt and Joe said 'you never know what life will throw at you so you do what _you_ want', after Joe's death Jamie had realized what Joe said was right and so applied to the Academy. Renzulli had felt sorry for Jamie hearing that he felt it was his obligation to make his mother happy by not becoming a cop. But Renzulli being a father himself worried about his children deciding to become cops but knowing if that was what his children wanted then he would happily and proudly stand beside them, and Renzulli knew this was how Mary Reagan would have felt. Renzulli was jolted out of his thoughts when his name was called by a Doctor.

* * *

 

Danny had managed to stop his crying and turned when the driver's door was opened and Renzulli sat in the driver's seat and turned to face Danny as he shut the door.

"Jamie" stated Danny in a hoarse voice "is he…?"

"No Danny he's just come out of surgery" replied Renzulli. Confused at how long it had been Danny checked his watch to be surprised it had been two and a half hours since Jamie went into surgery. "The Doc said he was very lucky and will make a full recovery; you can come sit with him" Renzulli finished.

Danny breathed a sigh of relief silently thanking Joe and then followed Renzulli out of the car and into the hospital still holding onto Jamie's hat and photo. Renzulli led Danny into a room where he saw Jamie lying in a hospital bed hooked up to various wires. Wordlessly Renzulli and Danny took up the chairs placed either side of the bed, Danny placed the photo up against a vase and Jamie's uniform hat next to it. Silently Renzulli and Danny waited for Jamie to wake up so they could assure themselves that Jamie really would be ok.

* * *

 

The next morning Renzulli was softly snoring in his chair while Danny was awake with his eyes fixed on Jamie. During the night Jamie had stirred awake, but only briefly, but enough to register who was sat next to him. Seeing Jamie awake Renzulli had managed to drift to sleep. Danny watched as Jamie's eyes slowly flickered open and fixed on him.

"How you feeling kid?" asked Danny,

"Sore" replied Jamie "but I guess that was to be expected"

Danny hummed in agreement. Jamie and Danny turned to Renzulli when he snored loudly and woke himself up. Renzulli looked to see Danny covering his mouth to try and not laugh, but Jamie on the other hand was openly sniggering.

"Didn't know you could do such a good impression of a pig Sarge" sniggered Jamie, grimacing when his wound pulled.

"Watch your mouth kid. I need coffee especially as your 'sense of humour' has returned" muttered Renzulli good naturedly as he left the room.

Jamie turned his head back towards Danny and spotted the photo. "How?" he started,

"I found it in the squad car" supplied Danny.

"Thanks I thought I'd lost it" murmured Jamie his eyes glued to the photo that was taken a year before Joe's death.

* * *

 

Two weeks later it had been decided (by Danny) that with the boys on a school trip for two weeks that Jamie would be staying with him and Linda. So Jamie was put up in the guest room and after the fifth day was growing increasingly bored and frustrated with having been stuck in a hospital bed for two weeks and Danny's guest bed for a further five days. Danny entered the room carrying a glass of water for Jamie with his painkillers.

"Ugh! When can I get out of this bed!" complained Jamie,

"In a couple of days" replied Danny patiently,

"A couple of days!" groused Jamie "I'm already going mad!"

"Just a little longer kid" said Danny as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"It's easy for you to say you're not the one stuck in a bed!" snapped Jamie, Danny knew Jamie didn't mean to sound harsh to him but Jamie needed to vent at someone so he gladly took the job because for him it showed that Jamie was completely fine acting his usual self when confined to a bed for long periods of time.

"Jeez kid you remind me of Joe when he had the flu and was stuck in bed, there was never any peace or quiet when he was awake" joked Danny.

Then for some reason Jamie looked up at Danny and asked "what did you honestly think when I said I had been accepted into the Academy?"

Danny sighed, "I was worried that I was going to lose you like I had lost Joe, and I wanted to tell you to quit and go back to being a lawyer"

"Do you still think that now?" asked Jamie, not meeting Danny's gaze.

"No" replied Danny making Jamie looked up at him, "yes I still worry about you, I always have since you were a baby especially after the numerous illnesses and injuries you have had. But since you have graduated I've begun to see how much you enjoy the job and how much of a great cop you are"

Jamie smiled "thanks Danny. That means a lot"

"No problem kid, just telling the truth" said Danny as he returned the smile.


	20. T is for Tree and Taser

It was Sunday and the family were retelling humorous stories from the past to Nikki and the boys. And as per usual Danny was telling a story from Jamie's past when he had gotten hurt. Again.

"Oh I remembered another story! Come and sit back down boys you to Nikki" urged Danny.

"Erm I'm ok thanks Uncle Danny I'm just gonna go outside for a bit" replied Nikki casting a sympathetic look to Jamie as she past him on the way out of the room. Jamie just stood in the doorway to the living room watching as Danny began his story.

"Er Danny are you sure Jamie doesn't mind you telling the boys these stories?" asked Linda looking over at Jamie,

"Oh he's fine. Aren't ya kid?" stated Danny not looking at Jamie,

"Oh sure" replied Jamie with his voice dripping with sarcasm, unfortunately for Danny he didn't hear the tone of Jamie's voice.

"Cool. Anyways boys as I was saying Uncle Jamie was around 11 and his basketball had ended up in the oak tree in the backyard, I've forgotten how it got there"

" _Danny!" yelled Jamie at Danny, "why did you have to ruin the fun as usual by getting my ball in the tree?!"_

" _I'm sorry kid I don't know how it happened" replied Danny, who had the decency to look apologetic for once, but Jamie didn't see this as instead he was looking forlornly up at his basketball._

" _Come inside kid and we'll figure out something to get your ball down" said Danny, but Jamie shook his head refusing to look at Danny because he was so angry. To Jamie Danny always seemed to ruin his fun for no reason and this just topped them all! Jamie's basketball was too high up for the ladder the family owned; Jamie knew that his basketball was going to be staying put. Danny sighed and made his way back into the house._

_Jamie continued to stare up at the basketball when he had an idea, the ball was too high up for the ladder but being 10 Jamie figured he was light enough to climb up and get the ball. Yeah that was a great idea because there was no way he was going to let Danny ruin this as well. Jamie looked around to make sure no one was watching as he knew the rest of the family would throw a fit if they knew about he was doing. Jamie marched up to the tree and climb up to the tree house and then he went to the little window and climbed out of it. He then began the climb to the ball, Jamie paused for a moment to stare in wonder at the view of the skyline of New York City, it was one of the greatest sights he had ever seen. Then he was reminded of his more pressing matter and the fact he had to get the ball and climb down before anyone saw him. Jamie had just got in line with the ball when he heard a voice._

" _Jamie what are you doing?" shouted Danny, looking fearfully up at his youngest brother who was currently balanced on a branch reaching out to his basketball._

" _I'm getting my basketball. What does it look like?" sniped Jamie,_

" _Well to me it looks like you're doing something incredibly stupid and dangerous!" snapped Danny,_

" _Well I wasn't going to let you do nothing and have my ball stuck up here!"_

" _Jamie get down now!"_

" _Not yet! I've gotten this far so I'm not getting down without my ball!" Jamie then pushed his ball out of the tree and watched with satisfaction as it bounced on the ground._

" _Now can you please get down!" urged Danny,_

_Jamie's answer was his movement as he edged back along the branch until he reached the trunk of the tree and then he began his slow decent back to the tree house. But looking down he found he was the wrong side of the window so he carefully started to manoeuvre around the tree. Danny realized what he was doing and so followed him around._

" _Take it slow and steady Jamie!" cautioned Danny,_

" _I am!" countered Jamie annoyed,_

" _Slowly Jamie" said Danny as if he hadn't heard Jamie._

_But Danny had distracted Jamie and he misplaced his foot. Jamie's grip on the tree was gone as he tumbled through the branches but Jamie was able to reach up with his arms and stop himself from falling. He felt his arms slide over the branch and he tightened his grip ignoring the pain that was in both his arms. He then looked to his right to see he was a metre away from the tree house window, so he hauled himself up onto the branch and as he crawled along it he kept his eyes fixed on the window in front of him. Ignoring Danny's panicky state below him as that would only be another distraction. Jamie reached the window and pulled himself through and then made his way to the ladder._

_As soon as his feet touched the ground he sighed in relief, then Danny came over and gipped his shoulders and shook him slightly, "what. Were. You. Thinking?!"_

" _I wanted my ball back. And I got it" smiled Jamie looking up at Danny's flabbergasted face._

"And he was completely calm despite his grazed arms and the small cut on his head that was almost dripping into his eye. Oh listen to this when Uncle Jamie was-"

"You tell them one more story Danny and I swear I will Taser you right now" warned Jamie dangerously. Surprised by this Danny turned to see an angry glint in Jamie's eyes as he leaned in the doorway.

As she walked past Linda whispered to Danny "I told you, you shouldn't have kept telling those stories. I am only surprised that it took five stories before Jamie cracked, and don't come crying to me, you deserve whatever Jamie is going to do" and then Linda had calmly left the room smiling at Jamie.

"Uncle Jamie how does a Taser work?" asked Jack,

Jamie paused for a moment, and then walked over towards Frank's laptop. Danny who still had a Taser on him from his last arrest pulled it out and accidentally pulled the trigger causing the probes to hit Jamie. Jack and Sean gasped as Jamie seemed to shake for a moment before dropping to the floor. Danny, Jack and Sean hurried over to Jamie to see Jamie pulling himself off the floor.

"Are you ok Uncle Jamie?" asked Sean,

"Yeah I'm fine Sean. Why don't you and Jack go outside a minute ok?" said Jamie with his eyes fixed on Danny. The boys nodded and more or less ran out the room.

"What the hell was that about Danny?!" exploded Jamie ignoring the hand Danny had extended to him.

"The boys wanted to see how a Taser worked so I got it out to show them and I accidentally pulled the trigger. Were you just going to ignore what they asked?"

"No! I was getting dad's laptop so I could show them information how a Taser works, without shooting someone with one!"

"Well my way was more practical and therefore explained better" said Danny defensively, then seeing the look in Jamie's eye he took a step back.

"You'd better watch yourself Danny" warned Jamie,

"Why?" asked Danny worriedly,

"Well Linda has asked you to go to a particular shop in Manhattan right?" asked Jamie with his eyes narrowed,

"Uh huh" replied Danny warily,

"Well I happen to be doing a tour in that area tomorrow about that time. So watch your back Danny as I might just well be carrying a Taser and pepper spray" and then Jamie brushed past Danny and made his way into the kitchen to grab a beer with Danny's eyes following. With his back turned to Danny Jamie smirked at Linda who gave him the thumbs up.

As Jamie passed Linda she said "using a psychological threat works wonders doesn't it?"

"Oh yeah" replied Jamie "it works every time with spectacular results".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone points out some facts maybe/are wrong e.g. Danny having the Taser at home, or Jamie carrying pepper spray I didn't know if these were right and for the purposes of making a light-hearted chapter I just put them in.


	21. U is for Unconscious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not in the medical profession and I am bound to have gotten some things wrong (also I have downplayed Jamie's injuries this is because of just wanting to keep to the situation that is the name of this chapter and so I wouldn't have to do too much research) so please keep the comments about if anything medical is wrong or missing to yourself please.

Jamie and Renzulli were currently assisting Danny and Jackie in chasing down a suspect who had decided it was smart to try and drive away from Danny Reagan who now was in a bad mood. Jamie thanked his lucky stars he wasn't stuck in the car with Danny; he did feel bad for Jackie though.

Danny and Jackie's car was directly behind the fleeing suspect and Jamie and Renzulli's squad car was coming on the right of the suspect when Danny's voice crackled over their radio.

" _Cut him off! Box him in!"_

"What do you think we're _doing_ Danny?!" replied Jamie tersely.

" _Well sorry for wanting to make sure you were doing what you were supposed to_ " snarked Danny,

"Are you driving?" demanded Jamie,

" _No I'm not driving! Why do you want to know?!"_

"Because I didn't like the thought of you having a go at me on the radio while driving directly behind us!"

" _What are you inferring?"_

"That you are an unpredictable driver especially when in a bad mood!"

" _Watch your mouth kid!-"_

"Excuse me Danny but I am in the middle of a car chase and you're distracting me" and Jamie promptly turned down the volume of the radio as he kept his eyes fixed on the suspect. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Renzulli try to hold back a snigger as he put their squad car next to the suspect and tried to drive him into the side of the on way street in the hopes it would encourage him to stop.

"What?" asked Jamie as he watched what the suspect was doing, to see if he would try anything which he knew would only further aggravate Danny.

"That it could only be you two Reagans who would have a brotherly argument in the middle of a car chase in trying to apprehend a suspect" smirked Renzulli.

"Well he started it. As usual" muttered Jamie jokingly.

Before Renzulli could reply the suspect swerved and when going at such a high speed on a one way street he propelled Jamie's and Renzulli's squad car into a wall of an abandoned construction site. It would have been obvious to any witnesses (if there had been any) that the suspect had not meant to do this by the fact by crashing into the squad car he had caused himself to crash into the side of a warehouse.

Renzulli groaned and rubbed his head, he slowly turned his head to check on Jamie to see that Jamie was slumped to his side with his head leaning against the side of the car, his seatbelt the only thing keeping him upright and from what Renzulli could see he also had a cut to his head that already was bleeding heavily.

"Jamie? Hey Jamie can you hear me?" asked Renzulli, but Jamie remained unconscious which wasn't unsurprising as it was his side that had been crashed into. As Renzulli undid his seatbelt he noted he was unable to get out of the squad car because it had crashed at an angle where he would be unable to open the door. He then heard the unmistakeable voice of Danny Reagan as he ran over.

Danny skidded to a halt at the front of the car and looked in through the now broken windshield; the sight that met him would have been one he could have done without seeing his whole life.

"Renzulli you ok?" he asked, but his eyes were fixed on the slumped form of his baby brother whose face was half covered in blood.

"I'm fine just got some cuts and bruises and trying to find a way out" replied Renzulli frustrated.

"The windshield is badly cracked your side try pushing into it and when the glass is broken you could climb out" suggested Danny.

"Yeah that could work" said Renzulli as he painfully pulled his jacket off and pushed hard at the glass, a movement his sore muscles protested, and as he did this he made sure none of the broken glass was heading towards Jamie.

Soon enough Danny was helping Renzulli off the bonnet of the car and quickly made his way to Jamie's side of the car.

"Did you call a bus?" asked Renzulli.

"Yeah, Jackie did and she's also dealing with the suspect" replied Danny as he figured a way of opening Jamie's door that wouldn't include Jamie falling out of the car. Before he did anything he looked at Renzulli and asked "could you see if Jamie had any other injuries?"

"No, the only blood I saw was coming from his head wound and it didn't look like if any of his bones were dislocated" replied Renzulli. As he took a position next to Danny and grasped hold of the door as Danny made ready to catch Jamie should he fall out of the car. Both of them tried to ignore the blood smeared on the window from where Jamie had been leant on it, while his wound bled heavily. Renzulli slowly opened the door and in the created gap Danny pushed his hands through and held Jamie back and when the door was fully opened he slowly and gently sat Jamie up and crouched in front of his brother.

Danny swallowed in trying to hold all his emotions in. The side of Jamie's face that had been against the window was covered in blood from his head wound and being smeared when the door had been opened. Which only made Jamie look like he should have been in a horror movie, his left arm was badly bruised from where he must have braced himself and he also had small cuts and bruises lining his face. Not to mention that he was still unconscious worried Danny, even though he tried not to show it.

Danny gently took hold of Jamie's right arm and said "Jamie if you can hear me squeeze my hand"

No response.

"Please kid, you gotta show me you're ok" Danny's voice broke on the last word and if Renzulli heard it he didn't mention it.

They heard the sound of sirens getting closer so Renzulli went to meet them. The piercing sound seemed to rouse Jamie as he winced at the loud noise mostly likely aggravating the headache he was sure to have.

"Dan'y" slurred Jamie, his eyes slowly flickering open to meet his brother's intense gaze.

"Yeah it's me kid" comforted Danny as he stood from the ground and using the car door he leant against it so Jamie wouldn't have to look down at him. Danny gently ran a hand through Jamie's hair (the side that wasn't matted with blood) and said "you really worried me there kid"

"Sor'" came the slurred reply, "I di'n' mea' t' wor'y yo'"

"Hey hey, you have nothing to be sorry for ok? It was the stupid idiot we were chasing. It was his fault, not yours. Got that?"

"Yea'. Yo' didn' d' som'thin' stu'd did yo'?" asked Jamie,

"Would I?" asked Danny innocently,

"Yea'"

"Ok yes I would but in this case no I didn't" replied Danny watching as Jamie was finding it harder to stay awake.

"Goo', don' wan' yo' in trou'ble aga'n"

"Awww you do care" joked Danny,

"Wha' broth'rs fo'r" Jamie's eyes then began to flicker shut.

"Jamie! Hey Jamie come on now kid you gotta stay with me ok?"

"M'tired"

"I know but just hang on until the EMT's get here ok?"

"M'tryin'" slurred Jamie as he blinked in the hopes of clearing his vision from the black spots dancing around at the edge of his vision.

"I know kid" comforted Danny.

Soon an EMT ran over and assessed Jamie, when she called for a stretcher Jamie's eyes slid shut and almost embraced the overwhelming darkness as it took away the pain. He could distantly hear Danny calling his name and knowing the hand in his was Danny's he gave it a comforting squeeze and felt one in reply and then knowing he had showed Danny he was ok he let the darkness overtake him.

The next thing Jamie was aware of was the smell of disinfectant, then the sounds of people moving around, someone squeezing his hand. Then he blinked his eyes open to find Danny looking down at him with concern evident in his eyes.

"I'm ok Danny" smiled Jamie, his voice hoarse from disuse.

"I know" smiled Danny in return.

"How long have I been out?" asked Jamie, silently thanking Danny for the glass of water, even if it came with a pink straw.

"A day and a half, you were kinda awake a few hours ago but the Docs said it was normal that you would be coming in and out of consciousness" said Danny taking the glass away.

"Any other injuries?" asked Jamie, still feeling the pleasantness of whatever painkiller he had been given.

"Only your left wrist which is sprained from where you tried to brace yourself and some cuts and bruises overall the Docs said you were extremely lucky to get away with what injuries you have" commented Danny.

"Don't feel too lucky" groused Jamie, despite the painkillers he could still feel his headache and knew once the painkillers wore off he was going to be in agony.

Danny snorted "yeah well no matter how you feel now it could have been a lot worse, in fact it _should_ have been a lot worse. You are just very lucky"

"Luck of the Irish" smirked Jamie,

"Yeah I guess so" smiled Danny, "anyway I think Renzulli is going to ask for a new partner"

"What! Why?" Jamie asked confused,

"Kid do you have _any_ idea what you have put that poor guy through this year? Between you getting a concussion from being thrown into a wall, to nearly drowning in central park and him getting locked in an industrial freezer with you to name but a few. I'm surprised he's lasted this long with you" exclaimed Danny,

"Alright Danny I see your point, but keep your voice down would you? Some of us here have a bad headache that is only getting worse" complained Jamie,

"Oops sorry kid" apologized Danny.

"It's alright; I suppose I'll forgive you"

"Of course you will. I'm your brother" grinned Danny, and Jamie couldn't help but return the grin.


	22. V is for Vertigo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vertigo is something that affects your balance.  
> I am following on from the last chapter in terms of Renzulli no longer being Jamie's partner as I had always planned on writing chapters with Vinny (I'm setting this chapter and the others when Vinny and Jamie actually started to get along) but I got to into whumping Renzulli along with Jamie. I am so mean : P. But since we all know what happens to Vinny I feel kinda bad so I thought I'd go easy on him.

Jamie and Vinny were just walking out of the locker room after they had finished their tour and just discussing what they would do with their week off.

"I say we hit the bars" suggested Vinny,

"What every night?" asked Jamie,

"Yeah. It's the best way to spend a week off!" enthused Vinny.

"If that is the way you have acted since High school I have no idea how you still have a healthy liver" commented Jamie shaking his head.

"With knowing my limits and inheriting my liver strength"

"Inheriting liver strength? You sure you're not drunk right now?"

"Oh you'd know if I was drunk Reagan!"

"I can imagine" replied Jamie wryly looking at Vinny's broad smile.

"So you joining me?" asked Vinny as he held the front door open for Jamie.

"Yeah. But not _every_ night" replied Jamie.

"Oh don't be such a bore!" retorted Vinny, he then turned to face Jamie to only see Jamie swerve violently sideways and crash into the wall next to them, "Jamie! Hey Jamie you alright?!"

"Hmm? Yeah fine" assured Jamie, Vinny eyed him sceptically, Jamie then added "no really Vin I'm fine"

Jamie then pushed off from the wall but only to have his knees buckle and Vinny only just managed to catch him before he face planted the floor. Vinny helped Jamie to sit up against the wall just as two old ladies walked passed muttering about how disgraceful it was for someone to be so drunk they were almost passing out at three in the afternoon.

Vinny hearing this stood up and called after them, "hey! He's a cop which you would have known had you noticed him walking out of the _12_ _th_ _prescient!_ And he's obviously not feeling very well so just keep your judgments to yourselves!"

"Vinny not helping" muttered Jamie, blinking to try and right his vision as it seemed as everything around him was spinning.

"They should keep their comments to themselves" snarked Vinny,

"I can see the headlines now. 'Cop shouts verbal abuse at two old ladies outside precinct for uncalled for comments' you'll be giving the NYPD a bad name for that" chuckled Jamie,

"Only trying to help" said Vinny as he crouched in front of Jamie,

"I know" smiled Jamie, "but yelling at those old ladies won't do anything"

"I guess. Ready to try standing again?" asked Vinny as he held out a hand to Jamie. Jamie nodded and took Vinny's outstretched hand, but as soon as he began to stand the street began spinning again and this time he even felt nauseous. He rested his back against the wall and put his head in his hands, Vinny bent over to look Jamie in the eyes.

"What's wrong Jamie?"

"Nauseous. Everything's spinning" Jamie groaned.

"Sure you haven't beaten me to being drunk?" sniggered Vinny,

"Funny" replied Jamie with his tone just dripping sarcasm.

"Did you drive to work?" asked Vinny,

"Yeah. Why?"

"Because I'm not letting you drive home" stated Vinny,

"Oh come on Vin, I'll be fine in a minute and I just want to go home"

"Well in the last five minutes you've gotten worse so I'm calling your brother to come get you" Vinny said as he reached into Jamie's jacket pocket and took out Jamie's cell phone.

"No Vinny don't!" complained Jamie as he raised his head and reached out to get his cell phone back. But the sudden movement of his head only made him feel worse and sunk back down to the floor missing what Vinny was saying to Danny. When he felt Vinny put his cell phone back into his jacket pocket without looking up he asked "so what did Danny say?"

"That he'll be here in ten minutes" said Vinny as he sat on the sidewalk next to Jamie with his arm around Jamie's shoulders, had anyone told Vinny he would be doing this for Jamie Reagan six months ago when they first became partners, he would have laughed and called them crazy. He glared at anyone who stared and seemed to come to the conclusion Jamie was drunk. Vinny's look basically told the passers-by to keep on walking.

This was how Danny found them when he arrived, "nice to see you're playing nice Vinny" commented Danny watching as a young couple hastily moved on after meeting Vinny's gaze.

"Just making sure people are keeping their judgements to themselves" Vinny responded his gaze still following the young couple.

"You're still doing that?!" exclaimed Jamie, still with his head bowed.

"Just looking out for my partner" replied Vinny smiling, the smile disappeared when a man and woman walking past shook their heads, "oh come on! Not in that way! We're partners at work! We're _cops_! Jeez what is it with people around here?!"

Danny sniggered into his hands, "as much as I find this entertaining and could sit here all day and watch. What's going on?"

"Jamie here seemed to lose his balance and then a few minutes later he became nauseous" said Vinny.

"Look I'm sorry Danny I told him not to bother you" stated Jamie casting Vinny a glare from the corner of his eye.

"Alright children let's keep it civil. Anyway it's not a bother I was walking this way already to see if you wanted to go for a beer" said Danny as he knelt beside Jamie,

"My my Reagan you surely are the popular one for going for a drink. Well if you've got this Danny I'll be seeing you later Jamie. Oh and if you are still feeling ill don't feel like you have to come out for a beer" said Vinny as he rose to his feet.

"Trying to get rid of me?" joked Jamie only slightly raising his head.

"Well if this is what you're like drunk I think I'll pass"

"Great thanks" commented Jamie, Vinny sniggered then waved as he walked down the street.

"Well you two seem to be getting on better" commented Danny as he watched Vinny walk away.

"And I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing" replied Jamie.

Danny laughed, "Vinny said you lost your balance and felt nauseous"

"Yeah"

"Sounds like you've got Vertigo" replied Danny as he slowly aided Jamie to his feet.

"What?" asked Jamie trying to ignore the sensation everything was spinning. As Danny led Jamie to his car Jamie, much to Danny's amusement, found he couldn't walk in a straight line no matter how hard he tried.

"Vertigo. It's when you suffer from loss of balance; everything feels like it is spinning, you can feel nauseous and it could last for a few seconds or longer" informed Danny.

"Huh" replied Jamie as he settled into the passenger seat feeling slightly uncomfortable with the thought Danny would be driving his car. He didn't know what it meant that he felt he could trust Nikki more with his car while she learnt to drive than Danny who had been driving for years. "What causes it?"

"You had a migraine again a couple weeks ago right? Well that can be a cause" responded Danny as he took Jamie's keys from him.

"How do you know this? Have you been bored and read a medical journal or something?" questioned Jamie in surprise because last time he checked Danny's medical knowledge was limited to injuries they could suffer in their line of work, migraines and the flu.

"Jack had it a few months ago and Linda told me about it" admitted Danny, as he pulled the car away from the sidewalk.

"Feeling slightly unimpressed now" smiled Jamie,

"Hey! If you weren't feeling this crap I would hit you!"

"Why do you think I said it?"

Danny just shook his head fondly and watched as Jamie lowered himself down in his seat and lowered his head in the attempt to make the spinning feeling go away or at least not become worse with seeing the passing buildings. Soon enough Danny had arrived at Jamie's apartment building and had an interesting time of getting Jamie out of the car, into the building and into the elevator, thanking his lucky stars Jamie's building had one, and getting into the apartment with Jamie still unable to walk in a straight line. Danny had an arm around Jamie's side when Jamie had an arm around Danny's shoulders and when Jamie staggered left and right he pulled Danny along with him making it look as if they were both drunk. Once they had entered the apartment Danny had quickly deposited Jamie onto the nearest couch telling him to sit still and turned to shut the door. He turned back around when hearing a loud thump and discovered Jamie lying on a heap on the floor.

"I thought I said sit still?" asked Danny helping Jamie off the floor.

"I was trying to sit more comfortably and for some reason found myself face planting the floor" groused Jamie frustrated at himself.

"Alright, well I'll stay here until this passes ok?" said Danny,

"Do I even have a say or choice in this?" asked Jamie.

"Nope" replied Danny.

"Thought not" stated Jamie lying down on the couch.

Five minutes later Jamie announced he didn't feel like everything was spinning but Danny had him remaining lying down for five minutes before allowing Jamie to sit up for another five minutes. He then had Jamie walk around the apartment and complete some everyday tasks and seeing Jamie wasn't having any problems agreed Jamie was fine.

"If I were you I wouldn't join Vinny in going to grab a beer kid" commented Danny as stood up from the couch.

"Wasn't planning to, I was going to let him regale me with his stories of getting turned down by a long list of women in a weeks' time" sniggered Jamie.

"Sounds like a good plan. Well see you on Sunday kid" said Danny as he opened the door.

"Thanks Danny" smiled Jamie,

"No problem kid" replied Danny returning the smile and then closing the door behind him.


	23. W is for Winterstorm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have gotten some procedures (both police and medical) wrong but please just forgive me and ignore it.

Jamie and Vinny were currently searching a snowy Central Park looking for nine year old Helen Parsons, and they only had around fifty minutes to find her before a blizzard hit. When the blizzard hit they knew all patrols would be called back in and they would have to resume the search after the blizzard and the chances of finding Helen alive after it were next to nothing. Helen was described as having green eyes and long brown hair and had last been seen in a long red coat, black boots and carrying her brown teddy bear. The area of Central park she had last been seen was on Bow Bridge, so as Jamie and Vinny were the first on scene they had gone to Bow Bridge and had begun their search. But unfortunately time and the weather was not on their side. The blizzard had started to hit fifteen minutes early.

"This isn't looking good is it?" asked Vinny as he turned to look at Jamie,

"No it isn't. But we can't just give up" replied Jamie.

"No we can't" agreed Vinny firmly looking around the surrounding area for any signs of Helen.

Jamie started to walk down one of the paths with Vinny right behind him. "Helen!" called Jamie. Within five minutes of walking down the path the blizzard had become to get worse, they could barely see two feet in front of them. This was when Vinny's radio crackled into life _"all patrols 10-2, repeat all patrols 10-2"_.

Jamie and Vinny shared a look, each knowing what the other was thinking. The radio call was telling them to return to their command, but neither of them wanted to leave little Helen in the worsening blizzard. But it looked as if they had no choice but to return to their command. Jamie and Vinny shared a despairing look and as they turned to head back the way they had come Jamie stopped and grabbed Vinny's arm.

"What is it Jamie?" asked Vinny looking at his friend.

"Look" said Jamie pointing to their left. It was fresh footprints in the snow; they walked a few metres following the footprints and then Jamie bent down spotting something at the edge of the trail.

"What is it?" asked Vinny blinking away the snow which was blowing into his eyes.

Jamie just stood up and held out a brown teddy bear. Vinny and Jamie quickly put together the evidence, the footprints looked as if they belonged to the boots of a small child and Jamie had found a teddy bear that matched the one Helen Parsons had been carrying. Also the footprints were fresh in the quickly falling snow, the radio again called a 10-2 but Vinny and Jamie had come to the same decision. They were going to continue the search regardless of the order for them to return to their command knowing Helen couldn't be far away. Jamie and Vinny continued to follow the footprints shouting for Helen as they went.

"Helen! Helen!" called Jamie, he had raised his arm to try and stop the blinding snow from falling into his eyes. The crunching snow behind him told him that Vinny was right behind him which was confirmed by Vinny's voice joining his in calling for Helen. But no small voice answered them. The blizzard was quickly getting worse with the snow falling thicker and quicker, which meant the footprints were fading. Soon enough there were no footprints.

Jamie stopped and cupped his hands around his mouth in the hopes his voice would carry further, "Helen!" he paused for a moment but again there was no answer. Jamie turned behind him "hey Vinny-" shocked that there was no one behind him Jamie spun around in all directions calling "Vinny! Hey Vinny where are you?! Vinny!" But much like his calls for Helen no one answered, all Jamie could hear was the low howling of the wind. Looking around Jamie couldn't even see his own hand; he had no idea where he was or which way to go so he pulled up his collar to try and protect his neck from the biting wind and snow. And continued the way he thought the footprints were going. Not knowing he was walking away from Vinny.

* * *

 

Danny and Jackie had been interviewing a family who had seen a man (matching the description of their suspect) running away from the murder scene. As they reached the foot of the apartment building stairs, they looked outside shocked to see what had only been slow falling snow half an hour ago had turned into one of the worst blizzards in the last few years. They walked to the front doors to see the snow already piling up.

"I guess we won't be going anywhere anytime soon" commented Jackie dryly.

Danny hummed in agreement when at the end of the block he noticed blue and red flashing lights, "hey Jack what do you reckon could be going on?"

"I don't know but it looks like it could be a temporary command. Why don't we go check it out? It's not like it's far to go and we haven't got anything better to do" said Jackie, nodding Danny buttoned up his coat and tightened his scarf and then he and Jackie pushed open the front door. With their heads bent forward they pushed against the wind and as they grew nearer to the flashing lights they could see a command truck and tents, which were all put together to create what looked like a huge tent.

Soon they were entering the huge tent and what must have been the command CO approached them. Danny recognised him as Captain Oliver Carter from the 22nd.

"Hey Reagan what you doing here? Because I know no cars are moving in this blizzard" stated Carter,

"My partner and I were interviewing some witnesses half a block down and we didn't know the snow had turned into a blizzard. So we couldn't drive our car out and we saw you're flashing lights. What's going on?" asked Danny looking around.

"A nine year old girl was reported missing by her parents in Central Park and with the weather warning we called in some additional patrols to search the park for her" replied Carter scratching the back of this head.

"Do you want us to go out and search as well?" asked Jackie stepping forward; knowing a lost child in this weather wasn't good at all.

"Appreciate the offer Detectives but the weather has gotten so bad ten minutes ago we had to recall all patrols back to the command. I don't like it but the way the weather is we will have to restart the search when this damn blizzard stops" stated Carter trying to conceal his frustration. "You two can wait the storm out here where it's warmer than your squad car" and then Carter politely dismissed himself.

Danny caught a glimpse of Renzulli who was talking to some patrol Officers. They nodded to each other in greeting before Renzulli disappeared into the crowd. Where they were standing Jackie and Danny were in earshot of the main command and didn't move so they could hear what was happening. When a Sergeant approached Carter.

"Ah Sergeant Jenkins have all patrols been accounted for?" asked Carter looking up at Jenkins.

Jenkins sighed, "no sir we have two Officers missing and when we try to get them on the radio we just get static"

Carter bowed his head and muttered something Danny couldn't catch and he couldn't hear Jenkins reply. Carter raised his head and asked a bit louder, "which Officers are missing Jenkins?"

"Officers Cruz and Reagan" replied Jenkins.

Danny gasped, Jackie grasped his arms and calmly said "now Danny it's not the 12th's jurisdiction and they both have common names so it's probably not Jamie ok?"

Danny just looked across the tent and locked eyes with Renzulli and Renzulli's look said it all. "It's him Jack. It's Jamie" choked Danny. "I gotta go and find him Jackie!"

"No Danny! You know in this weather no one goes out!" Jackie retorted.

"He's my brother! I _have_ to go find him!" whispered Danny despairingly despite knowing Jackie was right. Danny was then lost in his own thoughts, Jamie was missing, Jamie was lost in Central Park, Jamie was lost in a blizzard.

Danny was jolted out of his thoughts by Carter; "I've got Detective Reagan here sir" Carter then walked the few steps over to Danny and could plainly see Danny knew his brother was missing. "Here Reagan" added Carter as he handed over a cell phone.

"Reagan" murmured Danny,

" _Danny"_ commented a strong but soft voice,

"Dad?" replied Danny forgetting protocol of at this moment in time his dad was the Commissioner.

" _I'm aware you know about what the situation Jamie is in"_ said Frank,

" _Situation?!_ He's lost in a blizzard!" Danny paused and collected himself "…yeah…I was standing nearby when Captain Carter was informed" replied Danny trying to keep a neutral mask up in front of the other people in the tent.

" _You have_ stay _where you are-"_

"But dad! Who knows how long this blizzard will last? For all we know it could last hours and then Jamie would most certainly be d-"Danny cut himself off not wanting to think about Jamie freezing to death. It had almost happened before when Jamie and Renzulli had been locked in an industrial freezer, at least outside if Jamie found somewhere to shelter himself he could last longer than in the freezer.

" _We won't let that happen. If it becomes clear the weather won't let up in a couple of hours then a plan will be made"_

"A couple of _hours_?! Do you want Jamie to come home at all dad?" snapped Danny, he sighed "sorry dad. Just _please_ let me go find him"

" _No Danny"_ stated Frank sharply, _"I will_ not _have both my sons lost in Central Park during a blizzard. I need to know where you are so when the blizzard ends you can go find him and bring him_ home _"_

"Yes dad" whispered Danny.

" _Now do as you are instructed by Captain Carter and_ wait _for the blizzard to stop. Then go from there"_

"Yes sir" replied Danny hanging up with his dad and handing the phone back to Carter. He looked out of the plastic window and saw the swirling snow he shuddered thinking Jamie was lost in it.

* * *

 

Ten minutes after getting separated from Vinny Jamie had called Helen's name and this time he heard a soft voice respond, Jamie looked up with his eyes as he walked and murmured "thank you". Soon enough he was crouched in front of Helen.

"Hello Helen, my names Jamie and I am a Police Officer who has been looking for you" he said.

"I didn't mean to get lost" whimpered Helen "but I saw a pretty bird and followed it and then I turned around and I couldn't see my mummy and daddy anymore and I couldn't remember how to get back to them because the snow made everything look different"

"Shh it's ok, it's ok" comforted Jamie as he wrapped his arms around Helen feeling her trembling because of the cold. He raised a hand to his radio and pressed the transmitter button "command I've found Helen Parsons" but when he released the button all he heard was static.

"Do you think my mummy and daddy will be mad at me?" asked Helen looking up at Jamie eyes shining with unshed tears.

"No, they'll just be worried" replied Jamie softly shaking his head. "Come on we need to find some shelter and when the blizzard stops we can go see your mummy and daddy" Jamie then rose to his feet and picked up Helen in such away so she could bury her face into his shoulder and shield her face from the snow and the wind. After walking for a few minutes still with no idea where they were Jamie (literally) stumbled across a fallen tree which had created a small hollow shelter. In a storm two trees had fallen on top of a few boulders creating a space big enough for Jamie and Helen to hide in and wait for the blizzard to stop.

Jamie knelt down and loosened his arms from around Helen, "ok Helen I need you to go as far back as you can in that hollow ok?"

Helen nodded and took her arms away from Jamie and crawled into the hollow with Jamie close behind. Once they had reached the back of the hollow Jamie was pleasantly surprised to find he could sit up against the biggest boulder with a few centimetres to spare before his head touched the tree. There were also dead leaves covering the ground which relaxed Jamie slightly because they could act as a sort of insulation to keep the cold off of them. Helen was huddled up clutching her legs as she leant against the big boulder and one to her left which had created a wall and she was still trembling. Jamie scooted nearer and wrapped his left arm around Helen cushioning her against his side and the bolder shielding her from any draft.

"I want my mummy and daddy" sniffled Helen as she buried her face into Jamie's side. Jamie looked sadly down at Helen.

"It'll be ok Helen, we've got all my friends who will be looking for us when the blizzard stops" comforted Jamie,

"Why can't they look for us now? Like how you found me?" asked Helen peeking up at Jamie.

"Because they can't risk others getting lost like I did" replied Jamie,

"Then why did you still look for me when the blizzard started?" asked Helen confused,

"Can I tell you a secret?" asked Jamie smiling; Helen nodded returning the smile and Jamie stage whispered "I didn't listen to what I was told and continued looking for you after I figured you weren't too far away"

Helen giggled and asked "how did you know you weren't far?"

"Because I saw your footprints and found this" said Jamie pulling out the teddy bear from his inside jacket pocket.

Helen's eyes widened and she gasped while taking her teddy bear from Jamie, "you found Spencer!"

Jamie chuckled and wrapped his arm around Helen again looking out at the snowy Central Park hoping the blizzard soon stopped so they could be found.

* * *

 

Danny found himself sat in a chair he had no recollection of sitting on, he checked his watch and worked out Jamie had been missing for half an hour since the order for the patrols to return. And he had been at the command for twenty minutes, soon after he had been told Jamie was missing he had heard the nearby radio crackle and then Jamie's broken voice came through saying _"…command…found…Parsons"_ even though everyone was pleased that Helen Parsons had been found. It was bitter sweet because they had no idea where Jamie and Helen were.

The amount of time that had passed may not have sounded a long time to anyone, but to Danny it felt like an eternity. When a shout from an Officer brought him hope.

"We've got one of the missing Officers!"

Danny was up and running through the huge tent towards where the shout had come from and saw Jackie and Renzulli, "is it Jamie?!" he called. He stopped suddenly when he saw Vinny begin herded over to an EMT. Danny's shoulders slumped and then realizing Vinny should have been with Jamie he marched towards Vinny who was sat on a chair and had a blanket wrapped around him.

"Vinny where's Jamie?" asked Danny knelling in front of Vinny.

"I don't know" murmured Vinny,

"What do you mean 'you don't know'? You're his partner; you would have been with him!" Danny retorted.

"We got separated! I couldn't see my own hand in front of me, one second he was in front of me. The next I thought I saw some movement…it was nothing and then Jamie was nowhere near me!" Vinny explained trembling from the cold. Danny sighed and nodded, then he stood up and patted Vinny's shoulder before walking back over to his chair. He sank down and rested his head in his hands.

"Danny" Danny looked up to come face to face with Renzulli. "Danny he'll be alright"

"How can you be so sure?" asked Danny looking out a window in the hopes of seeing the blizzard coming to an end.

"Because Jamie has survived being locked in an industrial freezer, he's gotten through temporary blindness, he's survived being stabbed, drowning, being hanged and getting poisoned. He's a lot stronger than what others give him credit for" Renzulli said with conviction.

Danny nodded, "you're right. He is stronger than what everyone gives him credit for. Even me. He was always getting sick when he was younger; twice he had a fever so bad it almost killed him, but he pulled through both times. He is strong" agreed Danny with new hope.

Renzulli smiled nodding, "just you wait, I bet Jamie is out there right now with Helen and has found them both some shelter".

* * *

 

Jamie checked his watch to realize it had been forty five minutes since he and Vinny had had the call to return to the command, and it had been half an hour since he and Helen had taken shelter in the hollow. He looked down worriedly at Helen who seemed to be trembling more. Jamie unzipped his wind and waterproof jacket and scooped Helen up so she was sitting on his lap and then he pulled his jacket around them tightly.

"Jamie" spoke Helen with a muffled voice from being pressed up against Jamie's bulletproof vest,

"Yeah?" replied Jamie leaning back slightly so he could hear Helen more clearly.

"What's its like being a Police Officer?" asked Helen,

"Ok…erm" Jamie thought what did he tell Helen? Then he had an idea, "you know at school-"

"What has school got to do with being a Police Officer?" interrupted Helen impatiently,

Jamie chuckled, "because as I was _saying_ you know at school you have good days and bad days?" Helen nodded "well. Being a Police Officer is like that, you can have a lot of good days when you help people. But you can also have some bad days when you see sad things"

"Oh right" nodded Helen.

"Why did you ask?" asked Jamie,

"Because I just wondered, I see Police Officers walking around a lot and sometimes at school people who have older brothers or sisters sometimes talk about bad things that have happened to Police Officers. So I wondered what it was like being a Police Officer" Helen admitted, snuggling more into Jamie as she found him warm and she knew she could trust him.

Jamie was a little shocked when Helen snuggled closer but it didn't show, it actually brought back memories for Jamie when he had been 17 and ill lying in bed. 5 year old Nikki (who had a cold) had wandered up to his room and clambered onto his bed insisting he needed company and she was bored of her mom's fussing. Erin, Mary and Linda had come upstairs to find Nikki nestled against Jamie's side with one of Jamie's arms wrapped around Nikki, both soundly asleep. Since Nikki had grown out of snuggling family members Jamie had found he slightly missed it so Helen was bringing back fond memories.

But both he and Helen were shivering, Jamie knew they wouldn't have good chances of getting out of the park if the blizzard lasted more than two hours.

* * *

 

An hour after Jamie was reported missing the blizzard stopped, there was still snow falling but it was falling thin and slow. A rescue team could finally be sent out and Danny couldn't be more relieved. Vinny insisted on going with them but was held back so had to tell the team (which of course included Danny) the rough direction he and Jamie took from Bow Bridge. So that was where the team were heading. They had been walking for ten minutes when a voice came over the radio. A voice Danny knew very well, the voice of his younger brother. Danny listened intently as Jamie relayed his and Helen's conditions and described the hollow they were sheltering in. Danny scratched the back of his head, how were the rescue team going to find a hollow in a snow covered Central Park? But fortunately an Officer who patrolled the jurisdiction where Central Park was situated exclaimed "I know where that is! I've patrolled around there loads of times!"

Soon the team were rushing toward the hollow following the young Officer who Danny could nearly kiss (which he didn't) because the Officer could take him to his brother. Soon the Officer outstretched his arm and pointed to where the team could just make out the hollow. Jamie had said he and Helen were only cold and shivering and didn't think they had contracted hypothermia or pneumonia all because of where they had managed to find shelter.

"Jamie!" called Danny as he jogged past the team almost stumbling in the boots he had borrowed in his haste to reach Jamie.

As Danny drew near the hollow Jamie emerged still with Helen tightly wrapped in his jacket. Jamie awkwardly rose to his feet and smiled at Danny. Danny skidded to a halt in front of Jamie and took in Jamie's appearance. Jamie looked a bit pale, was shivering but he was smiling and the smile reached his eyes so Danny felt himself relax. Knowing once Jamie had been warmed up with blankets and a warm drink he should be fine.

Renzulli was the next to reach them and outstretched his arms, "come on kid hand me Helen" he softly said.

Jamie went to unzip his jacket but Helen clung on exclaiming "no!" Jamie just shrugged and hoisted Helen up a bit and with Renzulli and Danny on either side of him he steadily made his way towards the exit of the Park.

"Jeez what is it with you and kids Jamie?" asked Danny chuckling keeping a hand on Jamie's shoulders. Not only to guide Jamie through the snow, but to also reassure himself that Jamie was still alive and able to walk out of this situation on his own two feet and not have to be carried on a stretcher.

"Dunno" replied Jamie smiling. Soon they reached the command where Helen's parents were waiting, after being reunited with their daughter they thanked both Jamie and Vinny.

"I don't deserve thanks" said Vinny taking a step back, "it was Jamie who found Helen" but the Parsons were having none of it and still thanked Vinny because he had also risked his life to find Helen. After being checked over by an EMT Helen had come up to Jamie and asked if she could keep in contact with him and Jamie had agreed and exchanged with Helen's parents contact details. Jamie wouldn't tell anyone but he felt honoured and cheerful that Helen wanted to remain in contact, realistically Jamie knew after a few months Helen would lose interest and not keep in contact (he was in fact wrong).

Jamie and Danny went to their father's house to gather with the rest of the family. Where Jamie was welcomed as a hero but admonished for ignoring an order and causing the family to worry. But Jamie just took it in his stride with a smile and gratefully took the beer Danny handed him.

"You've had quite the day kid" commented Danny as he sat on the couch next to Jamie,

"Yep, but it was worth it to find Helen and get her back safely" smiled Jamie.

"Yes it was worth it" Danny replied, but then he grew stern "but if you _ever_ do that again and cause me to worry like that again I will not be responsible for anything I will inflict upon you. Got that?"

"Got it" replied Jamie trying not to choke on his beer, half laughing and half worried about what Danny might do to him should he get into any more trouble.

"Oh jeez don't choke kid" huffed Danny patting Jamie's back "I don't want to have to act on my threat five seconds after saying it!"

Jamie widened his eyes in worry and shock then once he met Danny's gaze and seeing Danny was joking he smiled and then burst out laughing with Danny joining in.


	24. X is for X-ray

"Jamie lift it higher!"

"I _am_ lifting Danny! Maybe _you_ should lift higher!"

"Why don't you both lift higher?"

"Shut up Erin!" chorused Danny and Jamie.

"Only trying to help"

"Well _don't_!" retorted Danny through gritted teeth. Frank and Henry were having a sort of spring cleaning and they just happened to announce this at Sunday dinner, leaving Jamie and Danny unable to get out of sorting the garage.

"Ok, have it your way. I'll just be inside sorting the attic" replied Erin smiling as she walked back towards the front door.

"Oh rub it in why don't you!" called Danny while adjusting his grip on the oak workbench he and Jamie were currently carrying towards the pickup truck they had borrowed from a cousin on their mom's side of the family.

"Rub what in?" asked Erin pausing on the path trying (and failing) to supress a grin at her brothers who were trying to work together to carry the workbench to the end of the drive. She wanted to stick around and see how they were going to get the workbench into the back of the pickup.

"That you've got an easier job" answered Jamie huffing when Danny jolted the workbench, "Danny stop jolting it!"

"Sorry I had to adjust my grip!" snapped Danny.

"I haven't got an easier job! You try crouching in the attic avoiding spider webs and dust and sorting through old cardboard boxes!" replied Erin crossing her arms,

"Wanna swap?" asked Jamie, "I'll quite happily sort through the attic and you can help Danny sort out the garage"

"Nah you're alright thanks" responded Erin.

"Ha! See! Admit it! You've got the _easier_ job!" exclaimed Danny,

"What are you 12?" Erin sniggered,

"No he's not. But he sure acts like it" Jamie added.

"Hey! If I wasn't carrying the workbench kid I'd come over there and-"

"And what? Hit me? Push me to the ground? You really need to stop threatening me over every little thing Danny!" snapped Jamie with narrowed eyes.

Erin tactfully went inside, it was a hot day and between the weather and carrying heavy items Jamie's and Danny's fuses were short. So it wasn't surprising that those fuses had been lit and therefore an argument would break out. Erin was just surprised they had lasted an hour before getting into an argument.

"Awww is little Jamie having an temper tantrum?" mocked Danny blinking against the bright sunlight,

"Grow up Danny. You've been in a strop ever since dad told us to sort the garage out" Jamie sharply stated while trying to wipe the beads of sweat from his forehead by rubbing his head on his shoulder. Which was made very difficult by the fact Jamie was walking backwards down the drive and Danny was trying to walk at a faster pace to be able to get the workbench to the pickup.

* * *

 

Henry joined Erin at the living room window after hearing loud voices coming from outside.

"So they've started fighting then. I wondered when they'd start" commented Henry,

"Don't you think it was a bad idea having them work together sorting the garage out?" asked Erin turning to face Henry rather than watch as Danny and Jamie stopped walking (but still holding the workbench up) as they started yelling at each other.

"Well they've been getting along better since Jamie was lost in the blizzard so your dad thought maybe they wouldn't end up fighting. Although as you can see he slightly misjudged the situation, he probably would have been better getting them to sort the garage out when the weather was cooler. Come on let's get on with our jobs, we'll soon hear if someone needs to step in" said Henry as he guided Erin away from the window.

"By 'someone' you mean dad" stated Erin smiling,

"But of course" smirked Henry.

* * *

 

"Come on kid move so we can get this workbench into the pickup" snapped Danny.

"I _was_ until _you_ suddenly stopped" retorted Jamie harshly.

Danny took a deep breath and tried the breathing technique Linda had showed him. _One, two, three…nope not working_. "Move. Jamie" spat Danny.

"You move" muttered Jamie rolling his eyes,

"Oh now who's the one acting like a 12 year old?" vented Danny, shaking the workbench slightly in his barely contained rage.

"Mature Danny. Really mat – argh!" Jamie cried out. The workbench hit the ground with a crash and Danny could only stand frozen to the spot as he took in what had happened. While walking backwards and in the midst of their argument Jamie had stumbled but was unable to regain his footing. And the workbench, with Danny's momentum, had more or less pushed Jamie to the ground and part of the workbench landed on Jamie's right leg.

Snapping back to attention Danny pulled the workbench off Jamie and set it to one side, he looked back to see Jamie leaning forward and clutching his right ankle.

"Jamie you alright?" asked Danny hurriedly as he crouched next to Jamie.

"Dunno. My ankle hurts though" Jamie said through gritted teeth.

Before Danny could respond the side door into the kitchen was opened and Frank jogged down the driveway.

"What's going on?!" Frank exclaimed kneeling in front of Jamie taking in what had happened.

"I stumbled backwards and couldn't get my footing, so the workbench pushed me to the ground" stated Jamie trying to not show how much pain he was in. Frank waved everyone back into the house except Linda who crouched on one side of Jamie which didn't already have someone kneeling there.

Linda gently pulled away Jamie's hands so she could look at his ankle; it was already swollen so Linda looked Jamie in the eye and asked "how much pain are you in Jamie?" Jamie looked as if he was going to brush off Linda's concern so she sharply added "and no lying"

Jamie sighed, "It hurts pretty bad"

"Are you feeling faint, dizzy or sick?" asked Linda,

"Just a little faint" replied Jamie.

"I think you need to go to the hospital because I think you may have either broken or cracked your ankle" Linda comfortingly said, "Frank can you get some ice please?" Frank nodded and with one more look at Jamie he sped off to the kitchen. "Danny we need to get Jamie into the backseat of the car so he can keep his leg raised" Danny nodded and Linda took the car keys from Danny's pocket and jogged over to their car.

Danny helped Jamie to stand and then helped to take some of Jamie's weight as Jamie hobbled down the rest of the drive. Danny who was anxious to get Jamie to the hospital and felt Jamie's hobbling was taking too long promptly picked Jamie up bridal style and carried him over to the car.

"Danny! Put me down! I can walk just fine!" complained Jamie,

"No you can't" replied Danny,

"I can hobble just fine!" amended Jamie. But it was no use they had reached the car, Danny helped settle Jamie onto the backseat when Frank arrived with some ice wrapped in a towel and placed it on Jamie's ankle. Jamie hissed from the cold and the pain.

"You ok son?" asked Frank,

"I'm ok dad" smiled Jamie. Frank nodded and then he and Linda walked back into the house leaving Danny to drive the twenty minutes to the nearest hospital.

* * *

 

Danny parked the car and moved to the back and helped Jamie out of the car, he went to pick Jamie up again but was met with a glare.

"Do _not_ pick me up like that again. Got it?" glared Jamie; Danny nodded and helped Jamie to hobble over to the ER entrance.

They didn't wait long in the waiting room (that may have been because Danny flashed his Detective badge) and were soon seen by a Doctor who recommended Jamie go for an X – ray.

Twenty minutes later the Doctor returned to Jamie's cubicle holding an X – ray and stood in front of Danny who was sat in the only chair and Jamie who was lying on the hospital bed.

"Looking at the X – ray it shows Jamie that you have cracked your fibular bone, which is the small bone on the outside of the ankle. Which means you won't need any bones realigning, you'll have a splint for rigid support. So you'll have to be on crutches for a while, but you won't need to be admitted. Just make sure that you remove the splint for short periods at home to practise gentle ankle exercises and as you say your sister – in – law is a nurse I am sure she will help show you what exercises to do. You will also need to come back in ten days for a general check – up" said the Doctor.

"How long will it take to heal Doc?" asked Danny, jumping in before Jamie could say anything.

"A broken ankle can take four to eight weeks to heal, but the crack Jamie has I'd reckon about four weeks" answered the Doctor trying not to smile at Jamie's groan of frustration.

"How soon until I can go back to work?" asked Jamie almost pleading.

"As you are a patrol Police Officer I would say five weeks and then be on desk duty for a further three weeks" replied the Doctor.

"Thanks Doc" thanked Danny shaking the Doctor's hand, after the Doctor left Danny looked back to see Jamie lying back with his arm covering his eyes. "Jamie"

"Don't try an apologize" stated Jamie with his eyes still covered.

"How?" spluttered Danny,

"You get this certain look" responded Jamie,

"You weren't even looking! You were covering your eyes!"

"I could sense you were going to apologize"

"You could sense it?"

"You know you get 'big brother warnings' about Erin and me? Well I got a 'little brother warning' saying you were going to apologize for something that isn't even your fault"

"But it was! I shouldn't have picked a fight and I pushed you backwards with the workbench" started Danny,

"What did I _just_ say? Don't apologize. If it's anyone's fault it was mine. I should have been looking where I was going" said Jamie,

Danny sighed as he sat back down in the chair, "we've been getting along better and I've gone and blown it again"

"What?" responded Jamie as he uncovered his eyes, "what do you mean 'you've blown it again'?"

"I've tried to make sure we don't have any fights, which we haven't. And today I go and provoke one" murmured Danny.

"Danny we're brothers, fighting comes with the territory" soothed Jamie looking sideways at Danny from his position on the bed.

"You've had a lot of close shaves this year kid and after you got lost in the blizzard I've kept thinking what happens if we've had a fight and that's the last time I ever see or speak to you? And to top it off I cracked a bone in your ankle!" said Danny despairingly,

"Danny though out my life whenever we've argued I know you really care. So you don't need to worry and don't beat yourself up about the fights or my ankle. You didn't crack it, it just happened" smiled Jamie, and happy in getting Danny to return the smile.

* * *

 

Soon Danny was helping Jamie into their dad's house and Danny relayed the Doctors comments to the family and Linda promptly showed Jamie exercises he could do. Henry and Frank insisted Jamie stay with them for the five weeks before Jamie was allowed to return to work, and even had Jamie stay two extra weeks after starting desk duty. Jamie was only allowed to leave once Henry and Frank had assured themselves Jamie was fine.

It had been decided the oak workbench would be turned into firewood to sell. Danny and Jamie took great pleasure in taking out the metal screws. Danny handed Jamie an axe with a smile.

"I'm going to enjoy this" Jamie said his eyes twinkling with the chance to extract revenge.

"Just make sure there's some of it left for me to have a go axing at" commented Danny.

"Will do" smiled Jamie and then he began hacking away at the workbench enjoying the sounds of the splitting wood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah not much to do with the title and could be seen as similar to chapter 1 (A is for Ankle) but oh well! : P Hope you all enjoyed it anyway.


	25. Y is for Youth

It was Sunday dinner and it was another tense affair. Danny had caught wind of something Jamie and Vinny had had done on their last couple of shifts, and Danny was reprimanding Jamie for his actions. Frank on this occasion was siding with Danny, making Jamie feel worthless, but to Jamie's surprise Henry was actually siding with him. The rest of the family had remained silent and had now evacuated the table.

Jamie and Vinny had been spending some time with kids of between the ages of 11 and 15 who lived in Lower Manhattan. There was no doubt that those kids would be brought into the gangs that worked out of Lower Manhattan, if they weren't already. Vinny and Jamie had been trying to get the kids to do their best and to stay away from the gangs, it was fortunate that the gangs in this area weren't as pushy as the gangs from the Bronx. Frank and Danny couldn't fault the reasons why Jamie and Vinny were trying to get the kids to stay away, but what they disagreed with was the way in which Jamie and Vinny were doing it. Jamie and Vinny would talk with the kids without any backup being outnumbered 10:1, this was dangerous because if the kids did work for the gangs then the gangs could be contacted and Jamie and Vinny could be attacked with no hope of getting out alive.

"Look we were only talking to them!" stated Jamie trying to keep his calm, but he was quickly losing it.

"Yes and we can't fault your reasons" reasoned Frank,

"But the way you two are dealing with it is all _wrong_!" Danny growled.

"What's wrong with trying to keep _kids_ out of the gangs?!" exclaimed Jamie,

"Nothing!" assured Frank, "but doing it with only the two of you-"

"Is suicidal!" yelled Danny getting frustrated with Jamie's stubbornness.

"If we did it with more Officers it would look threatening and then it _would_ give the gangs reason to attack us!" argued Jamie.

"Francis, Danny. Jamie is right. Talking to the kids with just two Officers, as the kids see Officers on patrol in pairs all the time, will look non-threatening. It will show the kids that they _are_ trusted and will encourage them to believe in the NYPD and actually come to you if they need help. Or to even give you information" stated Henry seeing the value in what Jamie and Vinny were doing.

"Kid you have _no idea_ what could happen!" snapped Danny,

Jamie lent back in his chair, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "Really? Because you did your Patrol Officer days in Upper Manhattan away from a lot of the gangs, whereas I've had to deal with them since my _first day_ as a _rookie_ "

"That maybe but I've dealt with them since becoming a Detective! Which is _longer_ than the few years you've spent on the job" countered Danny, not about to let Jamie win the argument.

"You haven't dealt with them _face to face_ _every day_!" snapped Jamie.

"But I've seen the results" spat Danny.

Jamie heaved a massive sigh, "why must it always be a competition with you Danny? Every damn day you have to be better than everybody else" Danny was shocked, it wasn't very often Jamie cursed. And when he did you knew he was annoyed.

"Jamie it isn't a competition" stated Frank looking his youngest in the eye, "all we're saying is you and Vinny need to change tactics"

"No" Jamie grounded out.

"What did you just say to dad?!" exclaimed Danny.

"Oh shut it Danny! Stop acting like you can ground me, which you can't, even dad can't anymore. And no we won't change tactics do you want to know why? Because the kids _do trust us_ and the proof is yesterday they came and told us some information about a murder that we could pass onto the investigating Detectives. Who then later made an arrest" Jamie said through gritted teeth.

"They'll do that to make you think they can trust you and then they'll turn on you" warned Danny,

"Trust issues much" muttered Jamie,

"Believe me after being on the job as long as me. You'll have 'trust issues'" stated Danny.

"Jamie listen to Danny he knows what he is talking about" urged Frank,

"What and I don't?" Jamie asked in a broken whisper with wide eyes. Henry was about to assure Jamie that Frank didn't mean it in that way, but Danny spoke first.

"Obviously. You are like a young kid in terms of street smarts. You're inexperienced out on the streets" snarked Danny.

"What Danny means is you're not as aware of the threats kids newly recruited into the gangs can pose" Frank pointed out.

"Francis!" exclaimed Henry shocked; he could see Jamie was taking a huge emotional beating from his father's and brother's words for something Henry could see the merits for.

"When you're like this I _really_ think you should have stayed a lawyer" Danny added.

"Stop!" Henry commanded.

Jamie stood up scraping his chair on the floor and began to leave the room, "what's the matter Harvard? Feeling a little sensitive?" mocked Danny.

Jamie turned to glare at Danny and Frank; "I'll leave then if I'm that much of a disappointment"

"Alright" replied Danny,

"Danny enough!" snapped Henry, as Jamie stormed out the room and out the front door slamming it shut.

"What? Just pointing out what I think" shrugged Danny.

"Well that's not fair to Jamie" Henry replied sharply and then he turned to Frank "if you were just the Commissioner you would see value in what Jamie and Vinny were doing, in fact say if it was Vinny and Renzulli you would fine with it. Maybe even give them a commendation, but because it's Jamie and he's taking a risk with his life doing it you want him to stop because you're scared of losing him like Joe"

"Pop-" started Frank,

"No Francis" Henry sternly commented, "Jamie once told me that only does he feel he has to prove himself to his fellow Officers for being a Reagan, he also has to prove himself to _this family_. Because he fears that we will say he's bad at the job and say he should go back to Law despite loving being a cop" Henry directed the last part at Danny. "And you say you don't want him to lose his life being a cop, think about how many other people are murdered _every week_. But you both, and I'll admit I have done as well, tell Jamie things that makes him doubt himself. But if you keep saying the things you said today to him, you'll lose him anyway. Because he won't want to keep hearing it, and honestly? I won't blame him" Henry then promptly left the room.

* * *

 

Jamie drove away from his dad's house more upset than angry. He was hurt that his dad and Danny felt he didn't have a clue about what the streets were like. Jamie had almost felt like telling Danny and his dad that they had no idea what it was like to work undercover with one of the most ruthless crime families in the city, but he had thought that would have caused a whole other argument and that it was probably better, and safer, if he just left. Jamie chuckled without any humour, that if Joe was still alive he probably would have hauled Jamie back into the room and forced them all to speak to each other and not let anyone leave until they all stopped shouting. Jamie would have given anything for Joe to still be there to keep the Sunday dinners under control, because Jamie constantly felt that he couldn't do anything right in the family's eyes. Being the youngest meant that between his siblings they would have each achieved something in every sport and subject meaning Jamie had to work twice as hard to get any recognition from his family. And that's why despite wanting to be a cop when he got an offer from Harvard an University no one his family had ever gone too, he had felt so proud and the whole family had been to. But Danny, and slightly Joe as well, had been disappointed knowing at the time Jamie wanted to be a cop. Jamie felt his anger well up again. Danny always critised him! Even when he joined the Academy to become a cop Danny had turned around and said he should have stayed in Law. Jamie drew a deep breath to calm himself; he was going to show Danny and his dad. That he was a good, no _great_ cop, and that he and Vinny were doing the _right thing_ , in the _right_ _way_.

* * *

 

"Grandpa" said Danny as he approached Henry,

"Yes Daniel" replied Henry. Danny cringed; Grandpa _never_ called him Daniel unless he had done something seriously wrong.

"I'm sorry" Danny softly said,

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing too" Henry retorted.

Danny flinched, "I know-"

"If you _know_ why are you sat here talking to _me_?"

"I don't know" admitted Danny.

"Let me ask you this Danny. When you were a rookie what was one of the _first_ things you were told by your TO?" asked Henry leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees and kept eye contact with Danny who was stood in front of him.

"What has that got to do with anything?" Danny asked bemused.

"Answer me Danny" Henry said sharply.

"To observe and stay focused" responded Danny.

Henry nodded, "undoubtedly Jamie would have been told the same. But how well do you think Jamie is going to be able to stay focused with what you and your dad said swirling around his head? Jamie is going to think you and Francis think he can't handle the job." Henry then rose to his feet "But I am going to tell you that when I went on the ride-a-long with Jamie do know what I saw? I saw a fantastic cop who has great instincts, a cop who gets along with most of the people on his beat, and a cop who _knows_ when to just talk or use force. I'll admit before I went on the ride-a-long I critised Jamie on his methods, I even did that one the first day of the ride-a-long. But you know what? On the second day I _saw_ what kind of a cop Jamie is. And I'll tell you he is one of the best this city will _ever see_. So I will _not_ stand by and watch as you and Francis, heck anyone else _including_ the rest of this family, tell Jamie he 'thinks too much like a lawyer', 'should have stayed in Law' or even tell him he's doing something wrong. Because in fact anyone who says that is the one who is wrong! So my answer to those of you say that, is to get in a squad car with Jamie and go on a ride-a-long for a couple of days. And then you'll see how _wrong_ you are and how _right_ Jamie is" Henry then resumed his seat effectively ending the conversation, knowing full well the rest of the family had been listening to the conversation between Danny and him from the moment Danny had walked into the room.

* * *

 

It was Monday and Jamie and Vinny (nearing the end of their shift) had been talking to the young kids again when as they were about to leave Russell who was 13 tugged on Jamie's sleeve to get his attention.

"What's wrong Russell?" asked Jamie, looking at the way in which Russell eyes were flickering from side to side and the way Russell was wringing his hands told Jamie Russell was scared.

"Er…Jamie the gang said I had two days to make a decision about their offer" murmured Russell.

"What offer?" questioned Jamie softly, already knowing what the 'offer' was.

"To join them or they'll recruit my younger brother. But what can I do?! Jimmy's 10 and easily influenced! They'll convince him to join but he can't he's too young!" cried Russell his blue eyes shimmering with fear. Jamie's heart broke hearing this and thought _you're too young to have to deal with this as well Russell_.

"Is there any way you and Jimmy can stay away from them?" asked Jamie already fearing he knew the answer.

"No! One of the guys high up in the gang live two floors below us!" whimpered Russell, he knew it was childish of him to whimper but he was unashamed to admit he was scared. He never wanted to join a gang. Jamie opened his mouth to respond but Russell interrupted sounding years older than his own age, "it's alright Jamie. I know you're only trying to help and I don't want to disappoint you but I gotta join to save Jimmy. They said they'd leave Jimmy alone as long as I joined, and that's what I'm gonna do. It's just…I had always wanted to become a cop and hearing how Vinny managed to be a cop made me have hope. Never mind just so long as Jimmy stays away from the gang. Please keep trying to save the other kids Jamie" Russell then gave Jamie a small smile before he turned and walked away.

Jamie's eyes followed Russell and felt angry at the injustice of how kids like Russell had to grow up in fear. Vinny came to stand beside Jamie and patted his shoulder.

"We tried" murmured Vinny, feeling just as angry as Jamie.

"We should have tried harder!" snapped Jamie,

"I know, but as the saying goes 'you can't save them all'" Vinny replied dejectedly.

"Well the saying sucks!" spat Jamie, with one more look at the street where Russell had left Jamie turned back to the squad car. When he got in he hit the steering wheel exclaiming "damn it!" and then he rested his head against the headrest. Vinny silently got in the car and they drove back to the 12th in silence, both knowing that the situation Russell had found himself in had now spurred the two Officers to spread the word to other Officers who patrolled the beat. They were going to make sure that no other kids would fall through the cracks again.

So on the Tuesday Jamie and Vinny spoke to Renzulli, then during Roll Call Renzulli had Vinny and Jamie stand up and tell the other Officers and Sergeants (who Renzulli more or less pushed into the room) what they had been doing and the results they had been getting.

"Look" said Jamie remembering his dad's and Danny's words, "I know there is the threat that the kids may draw in your trust of them and then turn the gang on you. But Vinny and I have managed to get the kids to ask us for help and even inform us about possible suspects. A lot of the time the kids are young enough to be easily influenced and if we get out there often enough and just _talk_ to them we'll get them to see that they don't have to join the gangs. Just yesterday a 13 year old kid, Russell Howard, came and told me he was joining the gang all because they said if he didn't they would recruit his younger brother Jimmy who is 10. And you know what? Russell even told me that he had always wanted to become a cop"

Jamie watched as the entire group of gathered Officers and Sergeants visibly reacted to the news that a kid who was now joining the gang had wanted to be a cop. Vinny subtlety gave a thumbs up to Jamie and moved more to the side so all gathered had their undivided attention on Jamie as Jamie continued.

"Have you all noticed how the gang only take one kid from any family to join? They do it because they _know_ the older sibling will join to keep their younger siblings safe. So you see not all the kids joining the gangs see it as an easy option or as a way to protect themselves. They do it to _protect their families_. The _very same reason_ why _we_ are all in this room as cops, those kids were just unlucky enough to grow up in an area where it's either join the gang or watch as your younger brother joins them. Their just _kids_ they should be allowed to act like one, not live in fear of the day when they will have to join the gang."

Renzulli stood leaning against the wall and was nodding with a small smile watching with proud eyes as he watched the very same Officer that had been his rookie three years ago make this speech. Looking around the room Renzulli could see how the Officers and Sergeants (who outranked Jamie) seemed to sit up straighter in response to Jamie's words. Renzulli watched as their eyes glinted as they gained the resolve to help save the kids from within their jurisdiction, he had no doubt that those gathered in the room would be spreading the word to other Patrol Officers in other precincts. _It's a shame though_ thought Renzulli; _even if this news is spread the other Patrol Officers won't get to hear this speech_. Just then Renzulli caught glimpse of Officer Marcus Aston who graduated the Academy with Jamie was holding his cell phone a little.

Renzulli walked over and Marcus grinned, "I figured if word gets spread around other Patrol Officers should hear the speech which seems to have won the 12th over"

Renzulli patted Marcus's shoulder, "great thinking Aston"

"Thanks Sarge. I never thought I'd see Jamie making a speech I just never thought it would his kind of thing. But I have to say he could probably give his old man a run for his money speech wise"

"I think your right Aston. Hey think you could email that to me?"

"Sure. But why?"

"Just thinking Jamie's family should see how good he is at giving speeches" responded Renzulli grinning.

"You got it Sarge" grinned Marcus and on his way back to his locker was taping on his phone. Renzulli then walked towards Jamie smiling.

Jamie saw Renzulli's smiled and frowned slightly asking, "what?"

"Nothing" smirked Renzulli; Jamie narrowed his eyes so Renzulli added "just thinking you make a good speech. Better than your old man I'd reckon" at the mention of Frank Jamie looked away and his posture tensed. "What's wrong?" demanded Renzulli.

"It's just dad and Danny think talking to the kids just me and Vinny on our own is wrong" sighed Jamie.

"Well it isn't" responded Renzulli.

"I know, even Grandpa agreed with me. Any way I'd best start my shift, see you later Sarge" said Jamie as he walked over to Vinny grabbing the keys for the squad car.

"Yeah see you later kid!" called Renzulli.

* * *

 

It was Sunday again and because of the heat the family were having a BBQ and Jamie was dreading arriving at the house. He hadn't spoken to anyone from the family since the week before. Not out of stubbornness to have his dad and Danny say sorry, but because he had been focused on figuring out ways to help the kids and Russell.

Jamie found his Grandpa, dad and Danny were in the kitchen so Jamie decided to suck it up and go get a beer.

"Oh look who it is. Long-time no see kid" smirked Danny as Jamie entered the room. Frank just observed Jamie and thought about what Henry had said about Jamie feeling as if he had something to prove to the family.

"Shut up Danny" murmured Jamie, Henry smiled at him and Jamie smiled in return happy that at least _one_ person in the family supported him.

"Yeah whatever kid. You know you were saying how you and Vinny were getting results? Well a buddy of mine in Robbery told me a kid Russell Howard took part in a Robbery. So great success there kid" said Danny. That was when Jamie snapped.

Jamie slammed his beer bottle on the table top and glared at Danny, "you have _no idea_ what is happening out there Danny"

"Not this again" sighed Danny, this only angered Jamie further.

"Right that's it!" yelled Jamie throwing his hands up in the air shocking Frank and Danny. But not Henry who had been waiting for Jamie to snap. "You know what Danny? Russell is only 13 and he only joined the gang to save his younger brother from getting pulled into it! And do you know what Russell told me on Monday? 'Never mind just so long as Jimmy stays away from the gang. Please keep trying to save the other kids Jamie' Russell has given up on himself to save his brother"

"Jamie" began Danny shocked at seeing the raw emotion in Jamie's eyes and hearing it in his voice. He had never seen Jamie like this.

"No Danny" spat Jamie, "stop saying how I'm going about the situation _all wrong_ because I'm not! Just because you wouldn't do the same as Russell!"

"What?!" exclaimed Danny,

Frank tried to intervene but Henry stopped him murmuring "they need to get everything out in the open"

"You'd better not be suggesting that if we were in that situation that I would leave my younger brothers to be left at the mercy of a gang" snapped Danny, hurt that Jamie would think that of him.

"Maybe you would save Joe from joining a gang" admitted Jamie,

"I would save you as well!" shouted Danny.

"No you wouldn't!" yelled Jamie,

"Yes I would! You're my brother and I will help you through _anything_!" thundered Danny.

"No. You wouldn't. All because I'm such a _disappointment_ to you" spat Jamie.

"No you're not!" assured Danny. Worried that Jamie thought he meant so little to Danny.

"Yes I am! When I went to Harvard you said you were disappointed. Then when I joined the Academy you were disappointed then! I'm just one big disappointment to you Danny!" bellowed Jamie.

"No! It's because I don't want to lose you!" replied Danny not concealing the emotions he was feeling from his voice.

"Right" snarked Jamie, who then turned to leave.

"Jamie?! Where are you going?" called Frank,

"I think it would be best if I skipped dinner today dad. And I'm gonna go out and help the kids on my beat. The kids out on the streets that I'm not so aware about the threat they can pose" said Jamie over his shoulder before he was out the front with a slam. Leaving Danny and Frank in stunned silence. Henry left the room not wanting to have to say 'I told you so' Henry was only surprised Jamie hadn't stayed longer to shout and rave at Frank and Danny.

* * *

 

It was Tuesday and Jamie had ignored the calls and texts from his dad and Danny, wanting to get his anger and frustration about the whole situation out of his system before he sat down and talked to his dad and Danny. Jamie and Vinny were walking down a block when Jamie's name was shouted, Jamie turned to see Russell running towards them.

"Jamie! Vinny! You have to get out of here!" panted Russell, it seemed he had been running to try and find them.

"Why?" asked Jamie,

"Because the gang are looking for you! Their angry that you and other Officers have been talking to the kids who are now not joining the gang. And the gang are after you because you're the ones started to talk to the kids! So you _need_ to get out of here!" urged Russell looking pleadingly up at Vinny and Jamie.

"Sorry kid but we don't retreat. We haul criminals into Central Booking" replied Vinny.

"But you _need to get away_!" pleaded Russell.

"Sorry Russell we're not leaving" responded Jamie.

Russell began to say something and then his eyes widened, Jamie and Vinny turned to see six gang members walking towards them. "Hey! You little twerp you're supposed to be leading them to us not warning them!" shouted the leader known to the NYPD as Tyler Robinson.

"Russell run" urged Jamie but he turned to see six more gang members approach them. Vinny, Jamie and Russell were then dragged to a waiting van removed of any weapons. Jamie was concerned to feel and hear the van start driving, he noticed though he still had his cell phone and began texting not wanting to alert the gang to what he was doing.

_Danny, I'm so sorry about what I said on Sunday to you and dad, please forgive me. On our beat Russell came to warn me and Vinny the gang were after us. The gang have got me, Vinny and Russell in the back of a van. Not sure where they're taking us. I know this is cheesy, but if I never see you again I want you to know. I know you care about me and that I would give anything to take back the words I said. You're younger brother for always Jamie._

Jamie knew he didn't have to sign the text, Danny would see the ID but knowing if he was to die at the hands of the gang then he wanted the text to show how much Jamie valued Danny as his older brother.

Through the darkness of the van Jamie shared a look with Vinny, each knew what the message was the other was conveying. _I'm sorry but I'm glad to have you as a friend._

Russell crawled to Jamie and whispered, "I'm sorry"

"It's not your fault Russell, none of this is" whispered Jamie in reply.

"You tried to warn us, that makes none of this your fault" added Vinny from across the van.

Jamie then comfortingly squeezed Russell's arm and Russell lowered his head onto Jamie's shoulder and tried not to cry. Jamie rubbed Russell's back "it's okay Russell" Jamie murmured hoping and prayed that this would all end in favour of himself, Vinny and Russell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC in the next chapter.


	26. Z is for Zoothapsis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zoothapsis means premature burial.

_Previously:_

_Jamie knew he didn't have to sign the text, Danny would see the ID but knowing if he was to die at the hands of the gang then he wanted the text to show how much Jamie valued Danny as his older brother._

* * *

 

Jamie felt himself tense when he felt the van slowing down; he quickly put his phone on silent not wanting Tyler Robinson or his followers to know he still had his cell phone on him in case Danny tried to contact him. Jamie knew to do this he would be better off turning his cell phone off, but he hoped by leaving it on Danny would be able to trace his phone and find them faster. Just as Jamie put his cell phone back into his pocket the van came to a stop and Jamie felt Russell cringe at the sound of banging doors.

The back doors of the van were wrenched open and the three trapped in the back found themselves looking into the cruel and sneering face of Tyler. Who couldn't be more than 25 years old and already was wanted in all five boroughs for crimes no one his age should have been committing since he was 13, Russell's age.

"Get out" sneered Tyler, Russell shakily rose to his feet but couldn't find his balance because he was so terrified. Jamie placed a steadying and comforting hand on Russell's shoulder and guided Russell out of the van. As they stepped onto the concrete Vinny and Jamie looked around to notice they surrounded by warehouses.

"Why is it always warehouses when gangs kidnap people?" questioned Vinny shaking his head.

Jamie gave a small smile and replied, "No idea but I'm beginning to hate the sight of warehouses" Vinny sniggered knowing about Jamie's past experiences involving warehouses. Jamie remembered all too clearly the last time he was in a warehouse, it was with Renzulli and some perps locked them in an industrial freezer to freeze to death. And the time before that was when Jamie and Renzulli had been taken hostage by two robbers. Jamie shuddered remembering how Renzulli had been prepared to possibly die at the hands of the robbers when urging Danny to take Jamie away after the robbers said only one hostage could leave. Jamie also remembered the look on Danny's face when Jamie swapped places with Renzulli and ended up falling in the Hudson River*. Jamie cringed thinking about Danny now; the last time they had spoken hadn't been pleasant, ending up with Jamie storming out of the house and skipping Sunday dinner.

Jamie sadly looked down at Russell thinking about how young he was to face all this and how he had been a part of the 'conversation'. And Jamie thought about the words that sparked the second argument.

" _You know you were saying how you and Vinny were getting results? Well a buddy of mine in Robbery told me a kid Russell Howard took part in a Robbery. So great success there kid"_

" _You have_ _no idea_ _what is happening out there Danny"_

" _Not this again"_

The three hostages were herded into one of the warehouses and pushed into the office, Vinny while trying to keep things calm for Russell turned to Jamie and asked, "Starting to get flashbacks yet?"

Jamie sniggered knowing what Vinny was doing and responded, "Yep. Thanks for reminding me"

"No problem" smiled Vinny. Their short conversation seemed to do the trick and Vinny and Jamie observed how Russell's shoulders seemed to lose some tension.

While they sat on the floor Russell looked across the room to Jamie and asked, "Why did you believe me when I said the gang were after you? I mean after me telling you I was joining I thought it would have been harder to convince you they were coming after you"

"Because we trusted you" replied Jamie,

"Really? I thought most cops would have been wary of a kid in a gang" mused Russell.

"I don't have trust issues like most cops" added Jamie remembering what Danny had said to him in anger. _"Believe me after being on the job as long as me. You'll have 'trust issues'"._

Russell chuckled and then leant his head against the wall and murmured, "I just hope they don't go after Jimmy because of this. I'd do anything to keep him safe, but I couldn't the gang kill you without doing something. I just hope Jimmy understands why I did this"

"Hey don't talk like you're not getting out of this!" ordered Jamie staring across the room at Russell, "because you're getting out of this! All three of us are!"

"How can you be so sure?" asked Russell his voice devoid of any hope.

"Because I know my brother and the cavalry _will_ find us" assured Jamie firmly.

"Don't worry kid, we'll get outta here" confirmed Vinny.

Jamie could see new found hope light up Russell's eyes. Russell nodded at Jamie and Vinny looking far older than 13 years old.

* * *

 

Danny was just wrapping up a case after a successful raid; he had turned his cell phone off during the half before and during the raid. So he fished his cell phone out of his pocket to turn it back on. While he waited he smiled in amusement as Jackie tried to get the perp to shut up and get him into the back of the squad car. He heard the pinging noise that let him know he had a message. When he saw the text was from Jamie he was relieved, hoping that Jamie wanted to meet up and which would mean he would get a chance to apologize to Jamie. But when he opened the text he almost dropped his phone, Danny lowered himself onto a nearby bench as he read the text. Certain parts stood out for him, which almost made him cry.

' _Please forgive me…the gang have got me, Vinny and Russell in the back of a van. Not sure where they're taking us…but if I never see you again…I know you care about me and that I would give anything to take back the words I said…You're younger brother for always Jamie.'_

"Jamie" whispered Danny looking around where he was as if that would magically allow him to see where Jamie had been taken. His cell phone began to ring and he hastily answered hoping it was Jamie. But instead he was met with his father's voice.

" _Danny…"_ began Frank hesitantly,

"Jamie…dad…Jamie's been taken…" choked Danny,

" _How do you know?!"_ exclaimed Frank, momentarily forgetting the worry that had seized him since he had been told about Jamie.

"I've just gotten a text he sent me forty minutes ago" mumbled Danny trying to contain his tears.

" _What does it say Danny? Because neither Jamie nor Vinny have contacted anyone else and we have no idea what has happened. No one in the area where they went missing are coming forward. You're our only hope Danny, you're the only one Jamie contacted"_ said Frank softly,

"I'll…I'll send it to you…but…oh God dad…the gang took them…" replied Danny despairingly.

Danny heard Frank gasp, then mutter a command to someone before Frank kept his emotions under control and then said to Danny, _"You're on the case Danny. Please bring him home Danny"_

"I will dad. I promise" said Danny his voice hardening out of anger and determination.

" _Thank you Danny. I keep thinking about last week's Sunday dinner and everything I didn't say…everything I_ _should've_ _said"_ admitted Frank grief stricken.

"Don't worry dad. You'll be able to tell him when I bring him home" comforted Danny.

" _Right. You'd better get started on the case Detective"_ and then Frank ended the call allowing Danny to send the text to his dad.

Danny didn't know what to feel when thinking about how he was the only one Jamie contacted; Jamie could have easily text Renzulli. But instead Jamie text _him_ , Jamie text him to apologize when he wasn't the one who should be apologizing. He remembered when he had apologized, but it was to the wrong person.

" _I'm sorry" Danny softly said,_

" _I'm not the one you should be apologizing too" Henry retorted._

_Danny flinched, "I know-"_

" _If you know why are you sat here talking to me?"_

" _I don't know" admitted Danny._

Danny didn't know why he hadn't come out straight away with an apology the following Sunday. But instead he had tormented Jamie as soon as Jamie had entered the room.

Danny looked at the text feeling his anger give way to misery and grief thinking he was the one who had to apologize _not_ Jamie. As he remembered some of the last things he and Jamie had said to each other.

" _No Danny stop saying how I'm going about the situation_ _all wrong_ _because I'm not! Just because you wouldn't do the same as Russell!"_

" _You'd better not be suggesting that if we were in that situation that I would leave my younger brothers to be left at the mercy of a gang"_

" _Maybe you would save Joe from joining a gang"_

" _I would save you as well!"_

Danny bawled his hands into fists and grabbed his hair then let his hands drop to his sides as his and Jamie's words circled around his head. _"Yes I would! You're my brother and I will help you through_ _anything_ _!"_

" _No. You wouldn't. All because I'm such a_ _disappointment_ _to you"_

Danny felt huge grief thinking about how he had never reassured Jamie that he wasn't a disappointment. _Pull yourself together Reagan. Jamie isn't dead and he isn't going to be. You can tell him how you're feeling when you bring him home._ Thought Danny, he nodded and then with sure steps he made his way over to Jackie to begin the search for Jamie. Because there was no way he was going to be burying another brother.

* * *

 

Frank was alone in his office and looked down at his cell phone and read the text Danny had sent, which was originally the text Jamie had sent Danny. When Frank read the first line, ' _Danny, I'm so sorry about what I said on Sunday to you and dad, please forgive me'_ Frank felt a part of his heart break. Even when faced with being kidnapped and knowing there was a chance that this was the last thing you would say to your family, Jamie's first thought was to apologize for something he shouldn't be. Frank knew the fault lay with him, not Jamie.

Frank bowed his head thinking about last Sunday's dinner, the dinner Jamie came to but didn't end up eating. With a grief filled heart Frank remembered the last words Jamie said as he left the house, _"I think it would be best if I skipped dinner today dad. And I'm gonna go out and help the kids on my beat. The kids out on the streets that I'm not so aware about the threat they can pose"._

Frank involuntarily gripped the arms of his chair, the last sentence Frank knew Jamie had directed at him. Referencing the Sunday before when Frank had basically told Jamie he didn't know the risks of the job. That was when his father's words unbidden entered Frank's thoughts.

" _But if you keep saying the things you said today to him, you'll lose him anyway. Because he won't want to keep hearing it, and honestly? I won't blame him"_

Frank then realized he should have listened to his father earlier and should have taken into account how what he said sounded to Jamie. Thinking about it Frank realized ever since Jamie had received his shield he may not have been that supportive of Jamie. So Frank promised Mary that when Jamie came home he was going to tell Jamie the truth, Frank only said what he did because he worried about losing another son. Frank then thought about what Henry said about the type of cop Jamie was, _"I saw a fantastic cop who has great instincts, a cop who gets along with most of the people on his beat, and a cop who_ _knows_ _when to just talk or use force"_.

"I promise Mary, I'll tell Jamie this. I know he is a brilliant cop, just please don't let him be taken from us too soon!" pleaded Frank.

* * *

 

Danny was at the scene where Vinny and Jamie had been taken, they couldn't use any CCTV because all the cameras had been destroyed. He watched as people looked out of their windows but no one came down to the street to give them any information. This continued for another ten minutes before Danny had enough.

"Alright! Does anyone have any information about the whereabouts of the missing Police Officers?!" shouted Danny to the whole street. No one even looked at Danny. "Does anyone know where Officers Cruz and Reagan have been taken?!" yelled Danny getting more frustrated. He turned to see a young boy about the age of 11 wriggle out of his mother's tight grip and ran over to Danny.

"Vinny and Jamie are the Officers who are missing?!" exclaimed the boy panting as he stood in front of Danny.

Danny nodded, "what's your name kid?"

"Oliver" replied Oliver looking up at Danny,

"Oliver! Get back over here!" cried Oliver's mom.

"No!" yelled Oliver, "I wanna help! Jamie and Vinny were always really nice to me so I'm gonna help!"

Danny knelt in front of Oliver, "Oliver did you see what happened?"

"Yeah" nodded Oliver, "Russell ran over to warn Jamie and Vinny that the gang were coming after them. But Jamie and Vinny said they weren't going to leave. Then Tyler came with the rest of the gang and took Jamie, Vinny and Russell. They put them in a blue van and turned left at the end of the street"

Danny looked to the sky and muttered "thank you" Oliver had now given them a chance to find Jamie, Vinny and Russell. They could now check the CCTV footage on the street the van went and would be able to track them that way.

"Thank you so much Oliver" said Danny.

"What's your name?" asked Oliver noting Danny seemed to be more worried than any other Officer of Detective would be.

"Detective Danny Reagan" responded Danny confused.

"Reagan? That's Jamie's last name"

"He's my younger brother"

"Really?" Oliver was wide eyed and even though being only 11 he could sense Danny was so worried he was almost ripping his hair out. "Jamie is a great cop" commented Oliver.

Danny then remembered what Henry had said about the type of cop Jamie was. _"I_ _saw_ _what kind of a cop Jamie is. And I'll tell you he is one of the best this city will_ _ever see_ _"_

"Great? Kid he's one of the best" replied Danny looking Oliver in the eye.

Oliver nodded and then added, "I hope you find them"

"Me too" smiled Danny, Danny then guided Oliver back over to his mother and then ordered someone to get the CCTV footage.

"Don't worry I'm coming Jamie" murmured Danny.

* * *

 

Jamie grunted in pain. Tyler had now started throwing punches, but Jamie would gladly take the punches to make sure Tyler didn't touch Russell. Vinny was leant against the wall beside Russell, with a bleeding nose, the forming of a black-eye and was holding his left arm across his chest trying to keep himself upright so not to aggravate his sore ribs. Vinny had also wrapped his right arm around Russell.

Tyler had the rest of his gang outside to guard the perimeter of the warehouse, so he had decided if he injured Jamie and Vinny then they wouldn't be able to escape with Russell.

Jamie was in the centre of the office lying on the floor curled up trying to make sure Tyler didn't crack of brake his ribs from being kicked. Jamie had blood dripping down into his right eye, was spitting out blood from his mouth and his was pretty sure his left wrist was sprained from where Tyler had grabbed him and twisted him around and made Jamie fall to the floor.

"Why were you talkin' the kids outta joining the gang?!" yelled Tyler in Jamie's face.

"Because they deserve a better life" spat Jamie.

"What you sayin'? You sayin' I don't take care of my boys?!" roared Tyler,

"I'm saying they deserve not to rot in prison while you walk a free man" sniped Jamie,

"You don't know jack! You don't know _anythin'_ when it comes to the streets!" Tyler screeched. This brought words to the front of Jamie's mind, things he would have rather forget.

" _When you're like this I_ _really_ _think you should have stayed a lawyer"_

" _Jamie listen to Danny he knows what he is talking about"_

" _What and I don't?"_

" _Obviously. You are like a young kid in terms of street smarts. You're inexperienced out on the streets"_

Jamie knew it was childish but he wanted to get back at Tyler for making Jamie remember the words spoken by Danny and his father. So Jamie looked up and spat "Doesn't matter if I don't know anything. The kids are avoiding you so I've won"

Tyler then grabbed Jamie's collar and pulled Jamie's upper body of the floor and growled, "You may have won _battles_ , but you've lost the _war_ "

"No we haven't" smirked Jamie,

"Oh really?" responded Tyler with raised eyebrows, "Because takin' a good look around where you are tells me you've _lost_ "

" _I_ might have done but _other Officers_ will continue what we've been doing. You can't kidnap all 35,000 of them"

"Try me"

"You won't. Because the Detective looking for us will make sure you _never_ see the light of day _again_ " assured Jamie calmly smiling up at Tyler despite the blood blurring the vision in his right eye and the taste of copper in his mouth.

"Really?" chuckled Tyler amused by the fact Jamie was so sure that he would be arrested by some NYPD Detective. "I don't think so"

"Wanna bet?" snickered Jamie thinking if Danny was angry Tyler had no hope or chance of getting away. Tyler remained silent.

"Afraid you'd lose?" chuckled Vinny, thinking the same as Jamie. Guessing Danny was on the case after getting Jamie's text.

"I never lose" glared Tyler,

"Well if I were you I'd get used to the idea pretty quick. Because when the Detective I told you about gets here…well it's safe to say I wouldn't want to be you" said Jamie calmly.

Tyler narrowed his eyes and let Jamie drop back to the floor. Jamie let out a grunt but his eyes widened when his cell phone fell out of his pocket.

"What's this?" asked Tyler and stooped down and picked up Jamie's cell phone. "You've text someone haven't you?! It's that Detective you were talkin' about!"

Before Jamie could say anything Russell stood up and cried out, "no I did! I used his phone when he wasn't looking!"

Tyler spun around to face Russell and marched over and smacked Russell in the face, "traitor!"

"No I'm not! Because I was _never_ one of you to begin in with!" yelled Russell.

"Don't listen to him Robinson! I sent that text!" shouted Jamie, but Tyler ignored Jamie and began dragging Russell out of the office.

Jamie rose shakily to his feet and when he found his balance he rushed forward and pulled Tyler away from Russell. But Tyler turned around and swiped Jamie's legs out from under him, causing Jamie to crash to the floor. Vinny tried standing but his ribs protested and he sank back down onto the floor gasping for breath. Tyler took a gun from his waistband and continued dragging Russell into the main part of the warehouse. Jamie was up on his and charging after Russell.

"Jamie wait!" called Vinny, trying to stand to back up his friend. But he still found himself sinking back onto the floor. Then the fire exit to the officer burst open and in charged Danny.

Danny ran to Vinny, "where's Jamie?" commanded Danny.

"In the main part of the warehouse" gasped Vinny.

As Danny was about to run to where Jamie was when he and Vinny heard two gunshots.

* * *

 

~ A few moments earlier ~

Jamie charged after Tyler hearing Vinny call out to him, but Jamie ignored him.

"Robinson let him go!" ordered Jamie, reaching for the gun that wasn't there.

"You so eager to die?" asked Tyler as he pushed Russell aside. Jamie saw Russell land on the floor and stepped forward to keep Tyler's focus on him.

"Nope. I'm 'so eager' to see you behind bars" replied Jamie sharply.

"Shame you won't get to live to see if that happens" said Tyler raising his gun so it was pointed directly at Jamie's chest. Jamie closed his eyes excepting his fate not knowing the banging door he heard was Danny.

"NO!" screamed Russell as he ran at Tyler, pushing Tyler's arm.

BANG! BANG!

Jamie opened his eyes and gasped at what he saw. Tyler was running for the door and Russell was lying on the floor. Red spreading across his shirt.

Jamie knelt beside Russell and put pressure on the two gunshot wounds. "Come on Russell stay with me!" pleaded Jamie.

* * *

 

Danny ran to the main area of the warehouse and saw Jamie crouched over. _Oh_ _God no! Please no!_ Thought Danny his grandfather's words entering his mind. _"How well do you think Jamie is going to be able to stay focused with what you and your dad said swirling around his head? Jamie is going to think you and Francis think he can't handle the job."_

Danny then worried Jamie was hurt because he thought he had something to prove to Danny and their father. This causing Jamie to lose focus and get injured. Danny then knew Jamie's injures were his fault.

Danny cautiously approached sighed when he saw it wasn't Jamie who was hurt. But Danny gasped when he saw it was a 13 year old boy who was hurt not Tyler Robinson (who Danny was hoping it was).

"Russell come on buddy stay with me!" urged Jamie.

"Jimmy" gasped Russell and then Russell wasn't breathing anymore as his eyes slid shut.

"No come on Russell! Come on!" pleaded Jamie.

Danny looked at Russell's injuries and momentarily shut his eyes, there was no hope Russell could have survived those injuries.

Danny wrapped an arm around Jamie, "he's gone Jamie. He's gone" murmured Danny.

"No!" moaned Jamie despairingly.

"I'm sorry Jamie. I'm so sorry but he's gone"

"NO! GOD DAMN IT!" screamed Jamie in pure anguish.

Danny then pulled Jamie against his chest and angled Jamie's head so it was looking away from Russell. Danny then rocked Jamie as Jamie began to cry for the loss of an innocent 13 year old boy.

"He did it to save me Danny" sobbed Jamie, "he shouldn't have done it"

"I'm sorry Jamie" Danny felt this was the only thing he could say as he continued to rock Jamie.

"He was too young" choked Jamie, "too young"

Danny closed his eyes as a few silent tears slipped down his cheeks feeling sadness at the sound of Jamie's cries as they echoed around the empty warehouse.

* * *

 

Three days later Jamie, Vinny and Danny were stood in the Howard's living room telling them the whole gang had been arrested, including Tyler Robinson. They had come to see the Howards after their tours and tried to keep their tears at bay as Mrs Howard cried for the loss of her son with her husband's arm around her.

"Thank you for trying to save him" said Mr Howard blinking away his tears.

Vinny and Jamie could only nod. Jamie then walked over to Jimmy and knelt down in from of the boy.

"Your brother was so brave Jimmy. Never forget that" said Jamie.

"I won't" replied Jimmy firmly. "Russell always wanted to be a cop, why would he join the gang just to save _me_?"

"Because, as I have been reliably informed. Older brothers always do whatever they can to save their younger brothers" smiled Jamie looking at Danny from the corner of his eye; Jamie noticed the look of surprise on Danny's face. Jamie then reached into his pocket and pulled out a Patrol Officer badge. "The 12th Precinct pulled together and we had this made", the part where an Officer's name was read 'Russell Howard'.

As Jimmy took the badge he looked at it and then back up to Jamie, "the numbers are Russell's birthday"

Jamie nodded, "it's the least we could do for all Russell did for us"

Jimmy looked back down at the badge and then back up to Jamie with determination shinning in his eyes. "I'm gonna become a cop to help people like you and Vinny are doing. Someday you're gonna hear all about a cop called Jimmy Howard"

"I'm counting on it" responded Jamie. He patted Jimmy's shoulder and then stood up.

* * *

 

Jamie and Danny then walked through the front door of their dad's house for Sunday dinner Jamie drew a deep breath as he walked into the living room and saw his dad.

"Look dad I'm so sorry for what I said the past two Sundays and-"

"No Jamie" said Frank firmly, "it is _me_ who is sorry. As your grandfather said about what I had said you had every _right_ to react in the way you did"

"As we're apologizing. I want to say how sorry I am too, I want you to know I think, in grandpa's words you're one of the best cops in the city" added Danny patting Jamie on the back.

Jamie gaped, "but I'm not-"

"Quiet kid" said Henry as he walked into the room and came to stand in front of Jamie. "You _are_ one of the best cops out there. How you dealt with the kids and the gang shows that"

"But Russell-"

"What happened to Russell is tragic. But he was a brave boy who wanted to stand up for what is right. And his death has only encouraged the people of his area to stand up for themselves" said Frank before hugging Jamie tightly, "I'm glad you're alright" Frank whispered.

"Hey kid" said Danny remembering something, "Renzulli emailed me the speech you made at the 12th and I have to say kid. It was pretty good"

Henry nodded smiling, "very inspiring. I must admit when I saw it I felt like going out there and talking to the kids"

"I'm proud of you son. Getting your fellow Officers to help and the speech was one of the best I have ever heard" Frank said gently.

"Really? But I just said what was on my mind" admitted Jamie.

"Well it worked" smiled Danny.

"Trust me Jamie. Saying what is on your mind can sometimes be the words that are needed" Frank commented looking proudly at his youngest son. Frank couldn't put into words the feelings he felt when Danny showed him Jamie's speech, proud was an understatement, but it was the only word Frank felt came close to the real feeling.

They all sat around the table and Jamie was confused when everyone enthusiastically exclaimed "can we come for a ride-a-long?!"

"What's brought this on?" questioned Jamie looking at everyone sat around the table, Danny snorted into his glass.

"Oh nothing kid. Just something grandpa said a couple of weeks ago" assured Danny.

For some reason Jamie was not comforted. His family coming for ride-a-longs? That was something he _didn't_ want to try for fear of his own life.

**The End.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * this is referencing my story 'Not Knowing is the Worst'.


End file.
